Enrollment growth at the state's universities and community colleges will cost nearly $100 million next year.
Legislators heard a briefing on the budgets for the UNC system and for the community college system on Wednesday.
Enrollment has swelled at the Community Colleges as the economic downturn has forced people to look for new careers and training, said Andrea Poole, an analyst in the legislature's Fiscal Research Division.
Enrollment, measured by calculating the equivalent of full time students, grew from by 2,348 students from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2008. In the current fiscal year, enrollment grew by 6,250 to its current 201,625. There are 829,146 students taking at least some classes in the system.
That spike cost the state $23.8 million. Next year, the numbers are likely to rise even further and Poole said enrollment growth in next year's budget will cost as much as $47.7 million.
The state kicks in $1 billion of the community college system's $1.48 billion budget.
In the UNC system, enrollment is expected to grow by 12,399 students in the next two years, said Richard Bostic, a fiscal analyst. That growth will cost $44.8 million next year and $54.4 million in fiscal year 2011.
The state contributes 38.3 percent, or $2.9 billion of the system's $7.55 billion operating budget.
Blog RSS feed
