Community college tuition and fees are rising faster than many citizens' ability to access them.  If those in need cannot obtain higher education services from them, they no longer fulfill their missions.  "Community" colleges cease to exist!   America's prosperity depends upon community college's open access and affordable education and career training.

Most economists and historians credit the GI Education Bill of 1944 as one of the leading causes of the great prosperity achieved since World War II.  It is easy to see why they came to this conclusion; millions of GIs went on to become college graduates. (The average WW2 GI's education was one year of high school!)  These GI graduates then became the entrepreneurs and leaders who made our continuing prosperity possible.

The presidents of two of the country's greatest universities both wrote letters to President Roosevelt opposing the GI Education bill.  They stated that opening up higher education to veterans (a poor uneducated group) would be a disaster for the United States and its universities.  What the university presidents did not see, was what individuals can accomplish when given the chance.  They also did not envision the tremendous return on investment higher education provides to both the individuals and to the nation.

Community colleges have been and are continuing to support this affordable open access higher education and our prosperity.  "Open access" and "affordable" however are being threatened, placing community colleges and our future prosperity in jeopardy.

Just as the GI Education Bill provided a tremendous return on investment, community colleges have and continue to do so. Community colleges are in the business of teaching.  They are not in the research business.  They have generated little or no information on their economic impact.   Hence, their heavy economic impact and their gigantic return on investment are not well known.   The present value of the cumulative return on local taxes invested in community colleges is in the thousands of percents!   That is correct. You put in $1.00 in local tax and the community receives back the $1.00 and almost $20.00 in community earnings!

Underfunding of existing community college missions and a movement to evolve community colleges into baccalaureate institutions without commensurate funding have already priced out many Americans.  We hope this site will help to save them, to save community colleges as we know them.

Please feel free to use the guestbook to leave suggestions and ideas.   Guestbook comments are available by clicking Read Guestbook.  We will be glad to add appropriate links to your URL in exchange for you adding ours to yours.