An article featured on www.courier-journal.com, authored by Harold Adams and Nancy Rodriguez (a 2007 Hechinger Institute Fellow), describes an enrollment surge at community and technical colleges in Kentucky and Indiana, and across the country.

According to the article:

The faltering economy is fueling an enrollment surge at community and technical colleges across Kentucky and Indiana, resulting in some potential students being put on waiting lists — while others are being turned away…

 “You'd expect enrollments to go up in a recession,” said Thomas Bailey, director of the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University…

It's the same reason many students nationwide are looking to community colleges for their education, Bailey said. Community colleges allow people to find new careers or refresh their skills at lower costs than a four-year university, he said.

“At the same time, we see state funding is being cut for those colleges, and the natural alternatives are what you are seeing,” said Bailey, noting that colleges around the country are ending registration earlier.

--The full-length article in The Courier-Journal  can be found at http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090824/NEWS0105/908250316/Community+colleges+struggle+with+soaring+demand  (subscription may be required).