Concord, N.H. — College freshman Elizabeth Hebert’s choice of a four-year school suddenly got too expensive. George Haseltine already has a business degree, but he concluded after several layoffs that he needed more training to get work.
So, in the middle of this school year, both landed at New Hampshire Technical Institute, which like other community colleges across the country has suddenly grown a lot more crowded.
The two-year schools are reporting unprecedented enrollment increases this semester, driven by students from traditional colleges seeking more bang for their buck and by laid-off older workers.
But community colleges aren’t exactly cheering in this down economy: Tuition doesn’t come close to covering costs, and the state funds used to make up the difference are drying up.
» Read the full article from AP News.
