Community colleges in Texas working overtime
by Mary Scott Nabers
CEO of Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
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In recent years, rising tuitions at four-year institutions and a sputtering national economy have forced even more students to the community colleges. Newly unemployed workers turn to the two-year institutions to seek new job skills while traditional students are looking for a less expensive alternative to a four-year institution. The result is a burgeoning student population that is outgrowing community college facilities and spreading classroom instructors thin. As states and local communities face their own budget shortfalls, appropriations to community colleges haven't keep up with their expenses, causing some institutions to cap enrollments, cut faculty, eliminate classes or try to convince budget-conscious citizens of the need for a tax increase to stay afloat.
Community colleges offer training programs for dozens of industries. As the global market changes, there is an increasing demand for skilled workers with vocational and technical training. And that training is both affordable and accessible through community college curriculums.
To offer assistance to the nation's community colleges, a new federal program - the American Graduation Initiative - was proposed this week. Not part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the initiative would send $12 billion to the nation's community colleges as part of budget bills to be considered by Congress over the next several months.
The proposal includes $2.5 billion for construction and renovation because many community colleges have deferred long-needed maintenance and have outgrown their campuses. The funds would not only help community colleges, but also open up contracting opportunities for business and service providers.
Another $500 million would be set aside for developing online classes that would serve even more community college students. The Alamo Colleges in San Antonio collectively have more distance-learning students than any other community college in Texas.
"Challenge grants" would offer $9 billion to be shared for projects that encourage innovations at community colleges. Officials would look at successful partnerships that involve both the colleges and the business community, those that allow for expanded course offerings and that reach out to different segments of the community, such as adults, non-traditional students and those needing remedial courses.
Most community colleges in Texas already have established partnerships with local businesses and many have received Skills Development Fund (SDF) grants from the Texas Workforce Commission to assist with training programs. Amarillo College has joined with two business partners to provide skills training for more than 450 new or upgraded jobs. The El Paso Community College has partnered with a manufacturing consortium to custom train more than 750 workers using nearly $820,000 in SDF grant funds.
One Texas consortium of five community and technical colleges/systems is looking for ways to work together to ensure some of the Recovery Act funding comes their way. The Dallas County Community College District, Alamo Colleges, Austin Community College District, Temple College and the Texas State Technical College System have signed an agreement to work together to attract those federal dollars by offering training for citizens to become skilled for a number of "green" jobs that will result from the stimulus bill. This "I-35 Green Corridor Collaborative" strategy is likely to find stimulus funds coming its way. It's the kind of creative and cooperative effort being sought. Workers will receive the specialized training they need for new or upgraded jobs and the community and the local economy will benefit.
There are billions of dollars set aside in the Recovery Act for green jobs in such fields as solar power technology, use of alternative fuels and renewable energy development. These industries will need workers to install solar panels and build wind turbines. This consortium hopes to capture funding to be used for collaborative training among the different colleges to turn out the next generation of skilled workers for this rapidly developing industry.
Billions more in stimulus dollars are being allocated to initiatives involving health care, transportation, energy and more. Many of the nurses, lab technicians, researchers, welders, weatherization experts and computer technicians who will fill the jobs being created will come from community college campuses.
