Interest in two-year colleges surges

Madeline Sims reports in The Dartmouth, the indepedent student-run newspapers at Dartmouth College, that enrollment at New Hampshire community colleges has spiked as the economy has tanked.

Enrollment in New Hampshire’s seven community colleges is up 12 percent this fall, an apparent reaction to the current economic climate. Students affected by the downturn — including recent high school graduates seeking an affordable way to continue their education, and older students looking to update their skills in a progressively more competitive job market — are turning to community colleges for help, according to Shannon Reid, director of communications for the Community College System of New Hampshire.

Although the state’s community colleges have seen steady enrollment increases over the past decade — typically between 3 and 5 percent — this year’s enrollment jump was the largest in recent memory, Reid said.