At a time when the nation’s economy is ailing and credit is drying up, Troy Carter thought he had found an affordable way to earn a four-year college degree: Stitch together an education at a community college and a state university.
But like millions of other students flocking to community colleges and public universities, he finds them struggling with financial problems of their own.
Midyear budget cuts are forcing many of the institutions to lay off faculty members, cut course sections, and freeze enrollment.