Sunday, April 18, 2010

Community Colleges see double-digit enrollment increases - Fosters

Community Colleges see double-digit enrollment increases - Fosters
Community Colleges see double-digit enrollment increases
Four-year schools embrace credit transfer programs

By Jason Claffey
jclaffey@fosters.com
Sunday, April 18, 2010

Picture

John Huff/Staff photographer Great Bay Community College.



Faced with an unprecedented surge in enrollment, community colleges across the country — including local ones — are having to do something they've rarely done before: say no to applicants.

And the trend is leading traditional four-year colleges to increasingly embrace the "two plus two" model, through which a student earns a four-year degree by spending two years at a community college and two at a four-year institution.

Last year, Maine's community college system turned away 4,000 students from their first program of choice. While New Hampshire's community college system doesn't keep track of the same numbers, an official with the system said its most popular programs are filling up faster than ever.

The trend isn't only local. California's community colleges were forced to turn away 200,000