Grant to waive fee for first time students prompts extreme registration at FCC

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- It resembled a line for concert tickets but this one snaked around the Fresno City College campus for extreme registration.

Students not yet registered for the spring semester patiently waited to sign up for classes which start on Monday.

"I think I've been here for an hour and I'm still waiting. I mean we're almost there right?" said FCC student Gerardo Garzon-Morales.

Once they made it inside students could go over financial aid and meet with advisors to determine which courses were available and which courses they need.

"You probably just need like a PE class and a computer class."

Claudia Chavez wants to be a reporter and she is glad she came early in the morning.

"I'm a journalism major so I just have a bunch of journalism classes left," said Chavez.

Some students had questions about the California promise grant, which would fund the first year of community college.

Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 19 which makes community college more enticing.

"Currently, while that's passed there's been no funding associated with it so we're still waiting for the state to determine where the funding's gonna come from. We're very hopeful that it won't take from existing strapped education budgets," said FCC President Carole Goldsmith.

Goldsmith hopes a funding mechanism can be found because she says it would have a huge impact on Valley students ready to bridge the educational gap.