Community colleges in California appear to be getting less and less accessible with the passing of a new law allowing such institutions to charge more money for their most popular courses, the Huffington Post reported.

California Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill into law Thursday and it will apply to as many as six community colleges. Termed "an experiment," the bill only applies to winter and summer term extension classes and will expire in 2018.

College of the Canyons, Crafton Hills College, Long Beach City College, Oxnard College, Pasadena City College and Solano Community College all may now charge a premium price for the most in-demand courses.

According to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the cost of an average three-credit course, if qualified, would leap in price from $138 to $600. Supporters of the law say it is a way to combat budget troubles facing California colleges.

"California's Community Colleges have always succeeded on the basis of equal and affordable opportunity," Dean Murakami, president of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges, said. "Establishing a toll-lane for the economically privileged... runs counter to the very purpose of these institutions. That is the reason the vast majority of faculty, students, staff, and the State Chancellor opposed this measure."

Jeffrey Kellogg, president of the Long Beach Community College District board, told the Orange County Register the extra revenue will allow schools to offer courses they could not afford to before.

The author of the bill, Assembly member Das Williams, argued in an op-ed in UC-Berkley's student newspaper the Daily Californian that the price hike will have a positive long-term effect.

"Yes, $600 is more expensive than $138, but only in the short term," he wrote. "What's the cost to a student forced by the current lack of classes to have to face one to four more years of living expenses to complete his or her education? It's a lot more than $600."