Community College Budgets Were Weak Even Before Financial Crisis Slammed Everyone

Scott Jaschik reports on the presentation at the AACC conference (SCUP staff member Betty Cobb represented SCUP in the AACC exhibit hall.) of the 2008 survey of the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges. That full report is not yet available on the AACC website, but it will be. The bottom line is that community college funding was in trouble even before last September:

“It is very clear that the high tuition/ high aid model of student financial aid does not work well, if at all, for low-income students attending community colleges,” the report says. It notes that state directors report that their lawmakers are not aligning policies to promote such policies, but are simply raising tuition.

State directors were “nearly unanimous” in finding that their students will be unable to attend without incurring debt, which discourages many from enrolling. If higher education continues to receive “what’s left on the table” in state budgets -- as has been the case -- the report project serious loss of access for low-income students.