Some 65,000 new students were enrolled in Texas community colleges from fall of last year to this fall, representing an 11 percent increase in enrollment statewide. Officials of the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC) called this increase a "positive development" in a letter last week to the state's leadership, marking Texas community colleges' response to the increased demand for higher education opportunities throughout the state.
Richard Rhodes, TACC chair and president of El Paso Community College, and Rey Garcia, TACC president, said in a letter to the governor, lieutenant governor, and House speaker that community colleges in Texas have grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The two noted that is like "adding the equivalent of seven Texas Tech universities or four Universities of Texas at Austin to the state's higher education system capacity."
"We are doing our part," they wrote. The question is how much more can they do at current funding levels.
The above information was reported in Texas Government Insider, a weekly publication of Strategic Partnerships, Inc.
Comments