At the community college where I work, we've just heard that 40 positions will

[raccoon]

be eliminated. 28 full-time and 12 part-time.

[truedelphi]

1. All across America, this is happening

Local newspaper had screaming headlines back in May as to all the teaching and teaching assistant positions that will be cut.

Meanwhile, Paulson's cronies use BailOut Funds to buy banks in Spain. Which sure does us taxpayers footing the bill a lot of good. <sigh>

[Dora]

2. It's going to happen across the country as enrollments drop.

I'm staff at a large university that had layoffs and early retirements in 2003. This may not be an easy time for those of us in higher ed.

[raccoon]

3. The problem here is the state cut way back on funds to colleges and universities. nt

[Ishoutandscream2]

4. Bush's ownership society at work.

Our Repuke dominated congress and governor cut state funding to higher ed., and let state schools determine tuition costs for students without state government restriction. Now, higher ed is too costly for many. All of this happening in the era of Bush. His fuckups have trickled all the way down to the state and local level. Heckuva job, Bushie!

[HereSince1628]

7. The tech schools are fairing a bit better...but the anti-tenure trustuee crowd is pouncing

on projections of enrollments that are very negative.

I've seen enrollments respond to stagflation, hyperinflation, Pappy's recession and *'s previous recession. The projections are always bad, but the enrollments aren't always soft. More than any time in the past there is an expectation that American HS grads will go on to some sort of college or tech school.

So long as students can get federal guaranteed loans there will be students both beginning, continuing and returning to school. That funding and its availability is high on Obama's agenda. I'm not going to dispair about higher ed. quite yet.

[enlightenment]

5. In our state, the governor wants to

raise tuition at all state funded higher ed institutions 25% for the Spring term. Retroactively, so that student's who have already paid for classes will be charged again. Because increasing tuition and fees isn't like raising taxes, which he promised not to do. The money, of course, will be siphoned off to fund other programs - higher ed is already cut to the bone but that doesn't matter.

Meanwhile, I've listened to three different segments on the news talking about how people need to make themselves viable by learning a new skill - go back to school, folks!

sigh.

I'm an historian; we'll be among the first to go, I'm sure.

[Lex1775]

11. Why doesn't that surprise me.

I just got hit with a retro-active tuition charge last week. My GI Bill now doesn't even come CLOSE to covering tuition, let alone books, and that is with my WoT Veteran boost.

[rvablue]

14. You can thank John McCain and other Republicans for that! n/t

[wartrace]

6. I find out tomorrow if I am still working until the next round of layoffs.

Ten staff people (I am staff) & 148 production people will be let go on Dec. 21st. They "might" (they will) close down half of our production in June & ship it to Mexico. At that point another 50 staff & 500 workers will lose their jobs. I am number six on the seniority list of the 24 people in my job function, when it is all said & done we will be down to 12 at the most. Am I worried? Yes I am, as a staff person they are not obligated to go by seniority although they do go by it for shift preference/vacation scheduling.

Nobody is immune from this downturn. Well, maybe nobody but our politicians & prison guards.

[hogwyld]

8. My company is cutting 300

By the end of the year. Merry Christmas indeedy!

[Robbien]

9. They are saying a million jobs a MONTH are expected to be lost

Hope yours is safe raccoon.

[raccoon]

13. Thanks, Robbien. I think it is. nt

[valerief]

10. My company is cutting at least 4000. For starters. nt

[MadinMo]

12. Big layoffs where I work too.

Those of us left feel like we are hanging on by a thread. And the horror stories of how those layoffs occurred are stunning --- I can't believe the company I've worked for for nearly 25 years would do some of these things. And seniority has not meant much from what I can gather.

At 1 million layoffs a month to come, the thread we are hanging on is sure to get thinner and thinner.

[Berry Cool]

15. It is never good in higher ed.

They cut jobs sometimes even when times are good, because they're afraid times will get bad. A normal staff person or untenured faculty member never sleeps easy. Only the tenured and the administration are safe.