Completing college within 2 years is the goal of many students, but that goal is being threatened by the removal of winter sessions. In order to graduate within two years you must take 12 units or more every traditional semester and at least 3 units in the summer and winter.

It is required that a minimum of 60 units be completed before a student can graduate or transfer. This is hard to obtain when students have outside responsibilities . Carrying a full load, which consist of at least 12 units, which usually requires taking 4 classes.

That is overwhelming when you couple the time needed to finish homework, with the hours spent on outside obligations, students are left with virtually no personal time.

The number of colleges offering winter sessions is a small and many of the classes needed are no longer being offered anywhere. For many students trying to get to these other schools is going to be hard, especially those who are not originally from California and have come here specifically to attend EC. Most of those students have obtained housing close to school and now they will have to find transportation to schools that are at least 15 miles away.

The cancellation of the winter session will negatively affect a large number of students and extend the amount of time spent at the community college level.