Wonder why it’s taking so long for some of our young people to obtain associates degrees?
Blame it on the fact that our community colleges have received less and less government funding over the last decade, even though student bodies have become poorer and more heavily African-American and Latino, according to a new report released Thursday by the Century Foundation.
The report warns of a widening gap between four-year colleges with high graduation rates and community colleges with dismal graduation rates, the New York Times reports.
In 2009, community colleges spent $9,300 per student, the same amount as in 1999, when inflation is taken into account. By comparison, four-year institutions spent $16,700, up 11 percent from 1999, and private universities spent $41,000, an increase of 31 percent.