Community colleges facing continuing strains

Florida already has a statewide system in place - the Florida Community College System - said Garcia. "What they're talking about is building onto an already existing state structure," he said. "They are probably the most advanced in offering baccalaureate degrees in the country."

One similarity the two states' community colleges share is that they are both enrolling increasing numbers of students while facing dwindling state financial support.

Florida hopes to use a pilot program that features a regional state college system that offers affordable, workforce-related bachelor's degrees. Three colleges have been named as part of the pilot program in Florida, with others clamoring to play a similar role.

Florida legislators offer that this would take pressure off the state's existing state university system and provide a more affordable education closer to home for many would-be college students. The goal would be more students obtaining four-year degrees and potential savings to students and taxpayers.

Eight Florida community colleges already offer bachelor's degrees, but the goal of Florida legislators is to better serve geographical gaps and meet both workplace and workforce needs with specialized baccalaureate degrees. The expectation would be that regional "state colleges" could serve a larger area than just a traditional local community college district.

But Texas is a much larger state than Florida, and "regional" in Texas is a much wider space than it is in Florida. Garcia also noted that three community colleges in Texas already offer baccalaureate degrees - Brazosport Community College, Midland College and South Texas Community College. The statute that allowed the three to offer baccalaureate degrees specified only three such institutions, so for other Texas community colleges to do the same would require additional legislation. And the baccalaureate degrees offered at these Texas community colleges are "very specialized," said Garcia.

With the increasing demand for community college classes in Texas, Garcia said there are going to be "some hard choices on how open our doors will be." As many of the state's community colleges are outgrowing their facilities, community college officials are finding it increasingly difficult to raise local taxes to support both new construction, maintenance and renovation - not to mention the need for additional employees. "We want to be able to continue to offer employees and students a quality product," said the TACC official.

If Texas community colleges find themselves short on funds, they may begin limiting the number of sections of classes they can offer, said Garcia. And in high demand classes - such as nursing - the result is that the waiting list gets longer and longer.

"We could be at a critical stage soon," said Garcia, "if things don't improve during the next (legislative) session."

The solution at this point is going to have to fall to the state, he said, pointing out the partnership originally forged between the state and local governments to provide higher education at the community college level. More and more of the cost of community colleges is being borne by taxpayers within the college districts.

"The locals have done their part and now it's time for the state to do its part," said Garcia.

Right now, Texas community colleges are dealing with what they believe will be an $11 billion investment in existing facilities to bring community college enrollments up to the standards set by the Higher Education Coordinating Board's "Closing the Gaps" initiative.