Students work while in school

Michael Mutuku sold used clothes in an open market in Nairobi, Kenya, before he came to the United States.

Now a security guard at BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina, Mutuku works from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day.

After a brief “night’s” sleep,  he attends classes at Durham Technical Community College from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., patiently working toward a degree in respiratory therapy.

Mutuku, 31, wants to work as a respiratory therapist in a hospital and settle down to start a family.

“You gotta sacrifice,” he said of his lifestyle as he studied algebra during one of the few breaks in his day.

People like Mutuku, who are hoping to improve their lot in life, fill a large portion of the ranks of students in the N.C. Community College system.

Since the 2009 fall semester, enrollment growth across the system’s 58 schools has grown by 31,000 students, especially in the health sciences program.

With such high enrollment growth and the short-term effects that community college degrees can have on the state’s job growth, state legislators are cutting less from the community college system than they have in years past.

Gov. Bev Perdue’s budget recommendation for the 2010-11 budget adjustment would cut the community college system’s budget by the least amount, compared with K-12 schools and the UNC system, and would appropriate an additional $85 million for community college enrollment growth.

“A lot of what’s being recognized is the fact that we have such a huge influx of students,” said Jennifer Willis, director of government relations for the system.

“It’s a mix of students — those coming out of high school, but obviously a lot of workers who have been displaced from their jobs. We’ve grown by the equivalent of N.C. State in one year throughout our 58 colleges,” Willis said.

The health sciences program, along with the life sciences and four-year-college transfer programs, have grown the most, as workers laid off in the recession look to retrain in fields with more job opportunities, Willis said.

Mutuku said he chose to study respiratory therapy after looking into job offers and average salaries.

“I did my own research, seeing the jobs out there. I’m investing where there will be money,” Mutuku said.

N.C. Sen. Tony Foriest, D-Alamance, co-chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education, said spending on the community college system has the most immediate impact on the economy as re-trained North Carolinians re-enter the workforce.

But each level of public education has its own long-term and short-term impact on the state’s growth, and education leaders are trying to work together instead of against each other, Willis said.

“NCCCS President Scott Ralls, UNC (system) President Erskine Bowles (and K-12 officials) have certainly been working collaboratively to further education initiatives — address needs among our three systems,” Willis said.

The community college system is especially important for students who hold down jobs and maintain families.

Emily Hampden, a single mother saving to send her three teenagers to college, is herself back in college, studying at Durham Tech to become a licensed practical nurse.

“I have to work and go to school, so I’m doing it step by step,” said Hampden, who has been lining up credits since 2008.

“In life, that’s what you want to do. You want to get ahead, you want to progress, you want to get better at what you do, and a lot of times that takes being educated,” she said. “I’m thankful that there are community colleges that offer the education.”

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.