MARYLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGES: A PATCHWORK QUILT

Abstract

Maryland's 18 comprehensive community colleges enroll 57% of the Maryland resident undergraduates enrolled in higher education in the state. Community colleges in Maryland are state‐assisted local institutions, with trustees appointed by the governor. Operating revenue for fiscal year 1994 consisted of 33% local funds, 30% state funds, 35% student tuition, and 2% other income. The community colleges are coordinated on a statewide basis by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and they are represented by the Maryland Association of Community Colleges for liaison and advocacy with the governor and the Maryland General Assembly. The Maryland community college system is much like a patchwork quilt: functional, attractive, and made up of individual pieces of distinctive material in a largely unsystematic pattern. Like the unique pieces in a quilt, the colleges differ widely in size, program emphasis, the demographics of their service areas, and the ability of their subdivisions to support them, among other things. The quilt‐like nature of the system comes from a strong history of local autonomy. These local roots have led to a remarkable responsiveness to local educational needs and subsequent popularity with citizens, but unity of purpose and strength of solidarity among the colleges on statewide issues has been difficult to achieve. Community colleges in Maryland place first priority on local autonomy, but they also yearn for the power and influence that comes from a unified statewide structure. Recent financial trends in Maryland include rapidly increasing tuition and a declining share of the state budget for higher education caused by increasing competition for funds for health care, corrections, and elementary‐secondary education. These trends chart a collision course, with potential consequences that include the restriction of student access, the sacrifice of the comprehensive mission, and the erosion of quality.