Enrollment in the colleges has increased substantially as people continue to go back to school to gain the skills needed to compete for jobs and earn higher wages in the post-recession economy. Long term, the community colleges represent one of the state’s most important tools for addressing the state’s long-standing poverty. The decrease in funding per student means that community colleges have fewer resources per student to cover the cost of providing education in a time of rapidly growing enrollment.
Keeping the colleges accessible and in a position to offer high-quality instruction is critical for moving the state forward and ensuring that they have adequate resources remains an important goal to work toward in the current and future Legislative Sessions.
Source:
Southern Regional Education Board (www.sreb.org), January 2011
*FTE is defined as full-time enrollment and is calculated by adding all semester hours taken at community and junior colleges during an academic year and dividing by 30 (2-15 hour semesters)
