Community college students no longer have the luxury of repeating courses four, five and even six times on the state's dime.

Education leaders decided last week to limit the number of times students can repeat classes using state money. The state pays 90% of the cost of community college classes to keep tuition affordable – but low costs also encourage students to drop classes more frequently.

With demand for classes at an all-time high and course selections diminishing, competition for a spot in community colleges is fierce. Students who repeatedly enroll in classes and withdraw or flunk make the problem worse: They take seats away from new students and strain the system's scant resources by delaying their graduation.

"We have too many students waiting in the wings for their first crack at a class," said Brent Calvin, interim president at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.

Pushing students to be more serious

The stricter rules may push students to be more serious about completing classes, Calvin said. But they don't address the bigger issue – students who are unprepared for college-level classes and repeatedly flunk out.

With dwindling resources, community colleges struggle to serve a diverse pool of students. Limiting students' chances to repeat classes doesn't solve their academic challenges, but it does free up money for services such as tutoring and counseling, and sends the message that completing classes is crucial, officials say.

The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges approved the change for the spring, trying to weed out chronic flunkers, make room for new students and save money. The new rules will allow students to take required classes three times, and they can petition for a fourth if they can prove a hardship such as illness kept them out of class.

Students who can't finish with a passing grade can keep enrolling – but only if the college agrees to pay for it. And at a time of absolute rationing, most community colleges would be hesitant to hand out any extra funding.

For a three-credit class, students pay $108 and the state pays $450. Colleges would have to pay the state's share from their reserves if they let students repeat a class more than three times because state law doesn't let students pay the full cost.

Rules that took effect in 2009 allowed students to take a course up to seven times and receive state funding. Prior to 2009, the state did not limit class repeats.

With lax rules about class scheduling, California's community colleges make it easy for students to enroll in courses they might not be prepared for or interested in, said Scott Lay, president of the nonprofit advocacy group Community College League of California. Students might make it halfway through before realizing that they're failing and drop the class.

"The community college system has said, 'We're going to let you keep trying over and over again,' " Lay said. "By the third time, maybe we need to find out why you're not succeeding in that course."

The new rules are popular among community college officials who are scrambling to make room for incoming students. But local leaders admit they are politically easy to support because few students repeat classes more than three times.

Some take same class up to seven times

Out of 2,436 students in the State Center Community College District who took intermediate algebra in the spring 2011 semester, 22 had enrolled at least three times before, and some were taking it for the seventh time. The district has five campuses across Fresno and Madera counties, including Fresno City College and Reedley College.