Demand Up, Funding Down For Community Colleges
I come across these kinds of headlines every day as I check blogs and RSS feeds on education.
There are about 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. that serve more than 10 million students, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Two connected trends are at work. We are in an economic recession and this makes workers who have lost their jobs or are fearful that they will lose their jobs want to upgrade their skills and résumés. At the same time, four and two-year colleges and universities are having their budgets cut, and so many school react by cutting enrollments and raising tuition. And the less-expensive community colleges generally get more of the admissions in tough times.
The average increase in community colleges applicants is ten percent over the past year. According to AACC, community colleges that are supposed to be open-access are turning away tens of thousands of students and it is likely that hundreds of thousands will be rejected if the economy and budget cuts continue. For example, the San Diego Community College District in California alone estimated that the state’s funding crisis had forced it to deny admission to more than 7,000 students.
New Jersey has 19 public (and 2 independent) community colleges (I am at Passaic County Community College.) The NJ budget is due in June. I hope the right decisions are made in order to provide the educational opportunities that necessary for these times.
- Community colleges squeezed from both sides
- Recession drives more students to budget-starved institutions nationwide
- Community College Enrollments Increase As Economy Falls
- Demand Up, Funding Down For Community Colleges
There are about 1,200 community colleges in the U.S. that serve more than 10 million students, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Two connected trends are at work. We are in an economic recession and this makes workers who have lost their jobs or are fearful that they will lose their jobs want to upgrade their skills and résumés. At the same time, four and two-year colleges and universities are having their budgets cut, and so many school react by cutting enrollments and raising tuition. And the less-expensive community colleges generally get more of the admissions in tough times.
The average increase in community colleges applicants is ten percent over the past year. According to AACC, community colleges that are supposed to be open-access are turning away tens of thousands of students and it is likely that hundreds of thousands will be rejected if the economy and budget cuts continue. For example, the San Diego Community College District in California alone estimated that the state’s funding crisis had forced it to deny admission to more than 7,000 students.New Jersey has 19 public (and 2 independent) community colleges (I am at Passaic County Community College.) The NJ budget is due in June. I hope the right decisions are made in order to provide the educational opportunities that necessary for these times.
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