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March 23, 2009, 12:06 PM ET
'Tsunami' of Community-College Students Fills Every Available Classroom
Enrollment at many community colleges is rising so fast that the colleges have run out of space for classes. A number of the institutions have seen double-digit increases as the economy has imploded, and their administrators have converted conference rooms, lounges, and computer labs into classrooms, in addition to scheduling courses on Friday nights, on weekends, and as early as 6 a.m. Even so, thousands of students are being shut out of courses they had hoped to take.
The colleges’ presidents says states’ dire budget situations are complicating efforts to cope with the enrollment spike. Many two-year colleges that would normally deal with the overflow by leasing commercial space or bringing in modular classrooms are instead laying off employees in response to state spending cuts.
And while the colleges may benefit eventually from construction money in the government’s big stimulus package, planning and constructing new buildings takes a minimum of 18 months, and often much longer. “We have about $200-million of new space under construction right now, but we can’t bring it online fast enough,” says Robert G. Templin Jr., president of Northern Virginia Community College.
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