Although going back to school has become an attractive option for state residents in a tough economy, community colleges are struggling to cope with increased demand and declining resources.

N.C. community colleges received a 10.7 percent cut in state funding in the budget enacted this summer. Thousands of students continue to flood the campuses, forcing admissions offices to place many on wait lists.

Charles Chrestman, president of Robeson Community College, said an almost record 2,750 students enrolled at the college this fall. But 178 additional students who tried to register were unable to do so due to lack of space and resources.

“It has been the toughest year in my over 30 years of community college business,” he said.

Administrators have laid off part-time lecturers and staff and increased class sizes to cope with significant state funding cuts.

Chrestman said future cuts in state funding would only cause the waiting list to increase.

“If things do not change, we could be sitting at 200 students or so next fall because we do not have adequate state funding,” he said.

Laurie Clowers, director of public relations at Wake Technical Community College, said the campus has increased enrollment by almost 10 percent since last year, with a total of nearly 20,000 students.

More than 6,400 students are wait listed for at least one class, while about 1,000 students have not been able to register for any classes, she said.

Clowers said Wake Tech actually received more state funding for enrollment growth, but it failed to cover the number of students admitted by a wide margin.

“We try to bring in as many students for training and education as possible, but demand exceeds the ability to serve them,” she said. “Where we can we are increasing our class size where seating is available.”

The recent surge in enrollment at community colleges can be partially attributed to adults seeking to attain more skills and compete in a state with an unemployment rate of 10.1 percent.

Community college enrollment for persons older than 25 increased by 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, and nearly 5 percent between 2009 and 2010. The increase in enrollment for persons younger than 25 was 5.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

“We have been seeing many older students coming back, saying, ‘I’ve been in manufacturing all these years, but I really want to become a chef,’” Clowers said.

The increased demand for admission to community colleges might also make it more difficult for students who hope to transfer to a UNC-system school.

Bobbi Owen, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, said the number of transfer students admitted to UNC-CH has remained fixed, but increased retention rates might make it harder for transfer students to enter.

“Given that our very high retention rate, we could have capacity problems at college,” she said.

“We have a commitment to transfer students at community colleges, but we have a primary obligation to serve our native students.”

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