Record numbers of students request financial aid.

One of the pluses of Community Colleges is a program that has expanded dramatically over the last few years known as "guaranteed admission." Students completing their associates degree in Community College are guaranteed admission to further their education at their choice of a long list of schools. In Virginia as in many other states, the community college system has guaranteed admission agreements with most of Virginia’s four year public universities, numerous agreements with in-state private colleges, as well as agreements with some out of state colleges; a total of 25 agreements in all. Students must have an acceptable grade point average which is disclosed in the guaranteed admission agreements.

Community colleges are experiencing some tough growing pains however. The Daily Progress article highlights just some of the staggering numbers they are dealing with in terms of growing enrollment and growing demand for financial aid.

"In addition to the increase in enrollment, another factor in the increased demand for financial aid is the rising price of tuition at Virginia’s community colleges. Tuition has climbed as the state has slashed the colleges’ budgets."

Proposed rules seek to protect students from taking on unsustainable debt.

We are going to start to read a lot about the debt students have been saddled with now that they can't find jobs to pay back the loans. This is an interesting and sobering article on the Department of Education website.

"The median federal student loan debt carried by students earning associate degrees at for-profit institutions in 2007-08 was $14,000 – almost double the median debt for their peers at non-profit institutions. The majority of community colleges graduates during the same time period did not borrow. In addition, while 88 percent of recent borrowers from nonprofit institutions and 80 percent of borrowers from public institutions were able to pay down the balance of their student loans in recent years, only 55 percent of borrowers attending for-profit institutions were able to pay off more than accrued interest."