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Some Bay Area Community Colleges Inundated With Registrants

SANTA ROSA (KCBS) – While many Bay Area community colleges don't open for instruction for a month, Monday marked the first day students could register for classes.

Santa Rosa Junior College serves 32,000 students a semester. Admissions Director Diane Traversi said that with a 10 percent reduction in class offerings and a 9 percent increase in expected enrollment, it wasn't a surprise to see 1,200 users at any given time trying to enroll online on Monday.

KCBS' Holly Quan Reports:

"With 1,200 people on at once, classes are going to disappear really fast," she said. "Our lobby is full and our phones are ringing off the hook from students at home."

Traversi said that she's hoping not to have to turn anyone away.

Meanwhile, students in the San Mateo Community College District are expected to have an easier time registering, after voters approved a parcel tax last year that raises $6 million for Skyline, Cañada and the College of San Mateo.

College of San Mateo spokeswoman Beverly Madden said that the school is expecting to add core classes that are in high demand, like math, English and transfer requirements.

"We're really stable," Madden said. "We're very fortunate with the support from the local funding, with the parcel tax and our enrollment looks stable for the fall."

Enrollment at California community colleges has grown an estimated 44 percent overt the last 15 years.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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