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How community colleges are ‘Investing
in Futures’
The leaders
of the American Community College Movement are convening
in Dallas, Texas, at a troubling time in history. As
I write these words, the United States and some of its
allies are engaged in a war in Iraq, and it is an action
that has split traditional international alliances.
We are all living in an increasingly dangerous world
in which our nation’s leaders have concluded that
preemptive strikes are now necessary to protect the
long-term safety of our people. At the same time, a
stubborn economic downturn is affecting the ability
of institutions, including community colleges, to provide
needed services to people, often those who are most
in need.
It is understandable
in these difficult financial times that community college
leaders are focused on state and local advocacy and
on making often painful decisions about priorities at
their institutions. Community colleges across the country
are faced with surging student enrollments while trying
to absorb sometimes staggering budget cuts. However,
we cannot afford to lessen our advocacy efforts at the
federal level. If we do not invest in our future now,
we should not hope for a better one.
The environment
at the national level is, in many ways, similar to that
of the states. Once again—and quite suddenly—the
federal budget deficit seems to be growing uncontrollably,
the costs of war and increased security have not been
adequately budgeted, and fiscal conservatives are in
control of the Administration, the Senate, and the House
of Representatives. It is a difficult setting for us
to secure increases in the programs that community college
leaders care about.
Yet, despite
the odds, AACC and our supporters are able to claim
some notable achievements in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2003
federal budget. Next July 1, many community college
students will benefit from a $50 increase in the Pell
Grant maximum, bringing it to $4,050. Perkins Act Basic
Grants were increased by $15.5 million. Title III-A
was increased by $7.9 million, enough to fund approximately
40 new institutional grants. Hispanic Serving Institutions
(HSIs) can now compete for an additional $6.4 million,
making it likely that community colleges that have Hispanic
enrollments of 25 percent or more can compete successfully
for these funds.
TRIO was
increased by $24.6 million, and GEAR UP was increased
by $8.1 million. The National Science Foundation’s
Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program, of notable
importance to community colleges, was increased by $4
million, and its Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math Talent Expansion (STEP) program received a very
large increase from $5 million to $22 million.
While we
can take some satisfaction in these achievements for
our colleges and their students, advocacy promises to
be even more challenging this year and next. In the
face of the worst fiscal environment in recent history
and with fiscal conservatives in control, we are headed
into the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act,
the Carl Perkins Act, the Workforce Investment Act,
the Nursing Education Act, and welfare legislation.
Those of you who follow our advocacy efforts know that
AACC has developed positions on these important pieces
of legislation in the past year.
We believe
that our proposals would significantly help our institutions
and their students. However, you should also know that
there are emerging issues and challenges that we are
not proposing, but must reckon with nonetheless.
Some of these
may include proposals limiting tuition increases by
threat of removal of institutional federal financial
aid eligibility; increasing loan limits and potential
indebtedness of students; replacing the Perkins Act’s
Basic State Grants with the Administration’s Secondary
and Technical Education State Grants, which might bypass
many community colleges; imposing new and inappropriate
federal accountability or reporting; and substituting
federal control for regional accreditation as a requirement
for federal financial aid eligibility.
As these
issues and others develop, AACC and community college
leaders will need to educate policy-makers about the
effects of their proposals.
In the year
ahead, AACC and its affiliated councils will continue
work on a variety of important initiatives, including
those to strengthen the role of community colleges in
workforce training, to protect the status of our Associate
Degree Nursing programs, to help promote the role of
community colleges in preparing the nation’s teachers,
to improve access to community colleges for high school
students and to the baccalaureate degree for community
college students, to expand and strengthen community
college leadership development opportunities, to develop
credentialing systems for non-credit programs, to promote
international exchange and global education, to promote
the value of diversity and inclusiveness, to improve
the Hope Scholarship so that it will better assist community
college students, and to continue to improve the image
of the nation’s community colleges.
We
are living in difficult times. In some ways, we may
feel that today’s events are beyond our control.
However, there are important things that each of us
can do. It is a time when policy-makers need to be reminded
of the need to invest in education and training as the
way to economic recovery and to improved understanding,
safety, and peace for all people. Likewise, it is a
time when community college leaders need to invest their
limited time and resources wisely. I ask you to make
a difference for your college, your community, and your
country by investing in futures at a time when it is
desperately needed. Thank you for all you do for students
and communities across America and beyond.
By George R. Boggs
AACC President
Community College Times
April 1, 2003
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