Largest Community College in U.S. Will Cap Enrollment

Because of steep cuts in Florida’s budget for higher education, Miami Dade College, the largest community college in the country, has announced plans to cap enrollment, The Miami Herald reported.

Miami Dade had hoped to raise revenue through a special referendum asking voters to increase the local sales tax by a half cent, but a bill that would have put the referendum on the ballot failed in the Florida Legislature.

Eduardo J. Padrón, the college’s president, said the significant cut in state money would prevent Miami Dade from adding new class sections in the fall term. The college is also canceling all of the open-house events set for tomorrow on eight of its campuses.

Miami Dade, like most community colleges, traditionally has an open-door enrollment policy, but the college estimates that as many as 30,000 students will not be able to take the classes they need to graduate and more than 5,000 will not be able to register for any classes this fall.

Shrinking state budgets have also put California’s community colleges in a bind. The 110-college system is likely to reduce its enrollment by 250,000 students in the coming academic year. —Ashley Killough