Colleges tell state, we need money!

Suburban community colleges are speaking out about what they see as a critical state of funding for their institutions.

Officials from the College of DuPage, College of Lake County, Waubonsee Community College, Elgin Community College, South Suburban College and Moraine Valley Community College attended the Illinois Community College Board's budget and finance committee hearing recently at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn.

"(We're) concerned about the accessibility to education and the increasing debt load that our students are accumulating by the time they leave community college," said Harold McAninch, COD's interim president. McAninch pointed to a recent survey conducted by the college that indicated more than 20 percent of students who did not return for classes did so because of the cost.

Tuition at community colleges, according to the Illinois Community College Board, has risen more than 31 percent since 2003.

ECC's Associate Dean of Adult Education Peggy Heinrich told the committee that every semester, the college must turn away students as space is limited and classes are filled to capacity.

Adding to that, the college's adult education students typically receive just $166 in grant money, less than half the 2006 state average for adult students at community colleges.

"Adult education programs in Illinois - have come a long way in improving the quality of instruction for adult learners, without any increase in funding." she said. "But with a state budget of $0 for GED testing and level funding for adult education over the past several years, our capacity to do more is limited."

Waubonsee Community College spokeswoman Teri Leatherbury spoke out about Gov. Rod Blagojevich's recent veto of the Illinois Community College System's 2009 budget, in particular the elimination of funding to support dual-credit initiatives for high school students taking community college courses.

"Dual-credit programs not only enable students to get a jump-start on college," Leatherbury said. "Reducing students' time-to-degree completion cuts the cost of a college education and moves them into the workforce at a quicker pace."

She urged the committee to work with the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the governor's office to restore full funding to dual-credit initiatives as next year's budget is developed.