The report nicely summarized in the article excerpted below is evidence that my comments in Warning! Absolute and percentage analyses of state higher ed funding may differ apply to community colleges, as well as to public universities. Even more pertinent is the recent call for increased productivity from the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis, which reinforces the recurring productivity focus of this blog. Even the community college sector, which surely deserves greater federal and state support than it receives, must become more productive by learning to use technology to improve and account for learning and service outcomes, increase the convenience of access for students, and simultaneously reduce per-FTE operational costs. Waiting for any level of government to allocate a greater share of its resources to any sector of public higher education is a risky strategy!
The Abandonment of Community Colleges
By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Ed, January 16, 2006
For at least a decade now, leaders of flagship state universities have been talking about the rapid decline in the state share of their budgets — a decline viewed by many as both historic and unfortunate. A new study — which has yet to be published but is being called a bombshell — suggests that there has been a similar, historic erosion of government support for community colleges in the last 20 years. Among its findings:
- In 1980-81, 16 states contributed at least 60 percent of the budgets of their community colleges. By 2000-1, none did so.
- In 1980-81, 22 states contributed at least half of the budgets for their community colleges, which enrolled 55 percent of all community college students in the country. By 2000-1, only 7 states — enrolling 8 percent of community college students — did so.
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