Responding to last year’s Cal State study showing the falling success rates of the institution, California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott announced that the state board of governors appointed 21 individuals to a Student Success Task Force during its January 2011 meeting.

Students, faculty and staff of California’s Community College system should applaud Scott’s response and leadership and work to help accomplish the task force’s evolving goals.

“California stands ready to lead the nation in developing innovative reforms to foster improved certificate and degree completion rates,” Scott said in a Jan. 18 press release.

In a previous editorial written by the City College Times, the staff called for a leader to spearhead a vast realignment of the failing community college system. That call has been answered with task force chair Peter MacDougall, a California board of governers member.

MacDougall argues that the path to success is in funds distribution in education.

“Throughout the nation college administrators are facing shrinking budgets and increasing demands to enroll and graduate more students,” MacDougall said in the press release. “The only possible way for improving graduation rates is to realign funding priorities to coincide with academic performance. Courses and programs geared toward helping students walk across a stage wearing a cap and gown on graduation day must be our first priority.”

The leaders of our California Community Colleges, our presidents, chancellors, trustees, should follow the reforms of the task force closely and help begin the process of transformation. Hold on tight, change is coming.