Scott Ralls, president of the N.C. Community College System, will be in Washington D.C. today for the first White House Summit on Community Colleges, an event hosted by Jill Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden. Jill Biden teaches at a community college in northern Virginia.

The summit, which will be streamed live on the White House website, will bring together a collection of community college administrators, faculty and students as well as business leaders to discuss federal and state policy issues concerning higher education.

Ralls spoke to the News & Observer Monday about the summit. Here are excerpts.

This is the first community college summit. What is the significance of that?

There's been more discussion about community colleges in the last 12 to 18 months than maybe in our previous years of existence. We've seen the growth of interest nationally over the last few years when presidents started mentioning them in State of the Union speeches. I think we've grown out of the shadows in higher education.

Why?

A couple of things. Community colleges are so jobs-focused that because of the recession, the attention on community colleges rises. Secondarily, but related to long-term economic prosperity - there's been  a lot of attention on college completion rates, the need for citizens broadly to gain post-secondary credentials, which for us means diplomas and industry certifications as well as degrees.

Because of that need, almost half of undergraduates are community college students. There's a realization that to meet national goals, it requires community colleges.

What can the federal government offer community colleges?

Like any part of government, we have funding challenges. I don't know that I or anyone else expect a great deal of funding resources, but I think the federal government plays a role in higher education funding. Community colleges have not received a great deal of federal funding in the past, but I think there are opportunities for the federal government to support community colleges.

There's a great network of workforce development and there's an opportunity for more in that regard. One of our greatest challenges right now is facilities. As much as we've grown in the last two years, and in North Carolina we've grown 23 percent in the last two years, we still face great capacity issues, which limit our abilities to reach more citizens.

Can you do some of it online?

Community colleges are typically the ones most out in front in distance education and that's the case in North Carolina. On average, our degree students take at least two classes online. Part of that is due to our student population.on average, our students are closer to 30 years of age than 20, so distance education is a way of life. But you can't do everything through distance education.

We don't teach distance education welding classes. Most classes can be made more efficient by distance education and many can be taught entirely by distance education, but many require experience in shops and labs, hands-on experience.

 What is the primary challenge facing community colleges that you hope gets discussed in Washington?

The state's community colleges got a big boost in the final state budget - full funding for its rapid growth in enrollment.

The budget issues $81 million to community colleges to fully fund enrollment that increased 15 percent this year. Across the state's 58 community colleges, total full-time enrollment went up by about 30,000 students - which is about the size of N.C. State University. That's a lot of new students in a year and the funding will help ease classroom crunches that have seen instructors teach up to 8 courses a semester in classrooms swollen with up to 40 students each.

"The enrollment growth funding is huge," Scott Ralls, president of the community college system, said Tuesday. "It lets us keep our nose above water."

Another big budget line for community colleges: $33 million to replace and purchase new equipment. This is particularly important for the health and technical courses that are in such demand now across the community college system, Ralls said. "We needed to make a jump in high-tech [equipment] and replace the old stuff," he said. "It's a big shot in the arm for us."

The budget does cut the community college system's budget by $15 million, a flexibility cut that will be passed down to individual colleges to make as they choose.

Enrollment is way up at community colleges, and funding is way down.

Simple as that. Times are tough, writes Scott Ralls, head of the state's community college system, in the N&O today.

Have a look.

We've already given you the UNC system president's thoughts on Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget proposal.

Now, here's what Scott Ralls, president of the state's community college system, had to say today about it.

“Governor Perdue’s budget recommendation to fully fund our colleges’ unprecedented enrollment growth reflects her understanding of North Carolinians’ increasing demand for job training and education, and we appreciate that recommendation.

While we know that lean budget times demand difficult decisions, we also know that the
proposed system-wide cut of 3.5 percent -- a direct reduction of our per-student funding -- will reach into our classrooms and lessen our colleges’ ability to provide high-quality educational opportunities for our students, particularly in healthcare and technical education.

We will be working with the Governor and the leadership in the General Assembly to find an alternative solution.”

Community colleges in North Carolina had an enrollment boom this fall.

College officials said this week that they're educating and training 20,000 more students this year than they did last year.

This sounds like a success story, but consider: the community college system is funded for 216,500 full-time students this year. It enrolled at least 236,500.

That's a 14 percent hike in demand for programs; All but one of the 58 colleges across the state grew this fall; Mayland Community College reports flat enrollment growth.

"Our colleges are being squeezed between unprecedented enrollment numbers and continued budget reductions and reversions," said Scott Ralls, the community college system's president. "We can only put so many seats in a classroom, and we can only add so many faculty with limited dollars.

Our colleges are forced to cut off enrollment in certain courses and programs, but we continue our mission of welcoming those North Carolinians seeking education and training, even if we can't immediately put them in the specific class or program they want."

A N.C. House budget proposal brokered late this week brought at least a temporary measure of relief to community college officials and local police and fire chiefs alike.

As budget writers in recent weeks have grappled with growing deficits, they had considered axing waivers traditionally given to police, fire, EMS and other service agencies who take continuing education and other training courses at community colleges.

These waivers are valuable: police and fire agencies large and small have long relied on them to keep their officers current and certified. And there's real value to them; this year, Wake Technical Community College provides $2.47 million worth of free - or "waived" - courses to police, fire, EMS workers as well as prison inmates and senior citizens. Durham Technical Community College provides nearly $500,000 this year, and Alamance Community Technical College chips in $677,000.

That's a lot of training.

"The argument has been that these are folks who put their lives on the line," said Bill Ingram, Durham Tech's president. "Many of them must have this training on an ongoing basis."

The lates N.C. House budget proposal has higher education officials in North Carolina breathing a cautious sigh of relief.

The plan calls for spending cuts at a lower rate than previously anticipated. Here's what the leaders of the UNC system and the state's community colleges say.

Erskine Bowles, president, UNC system:

"We are extremely grateful that House members made the very difficult decision to recommend a modest revenue package to help balance the State budget and thereby lessen deep cuts to education and other critical State services. The revenue package added to the House budget today would restore about $75 million of the cuts that had previously been assigned to the University in the first year of the biennium. As a result, our proposed net funding reduction for 2009-10 under the House plan would drop from $338 million (11.2%) to $263 million (8.7%). Across our 17 campuses, this partial restoration of funding would save 600 jobs and enable us to teach 1,300 more class sections, helping our students get the courses they need to graduate on time. This vital funding would be applied directly to the University’s academic core.

At Appalachian State University, for example, these additional dollars would save about 40 jobs—more than half of them faculty—and restore 175 class sections. Western Carolina would save another 30 jobs in an economically distressed region of the state. Elsewhere, NC Central University would save more than 20 faculty and staff jobs and 75 class sections; East Carolina University would save 75 jobs, including nursing faculty; and UNC Wilmington would save another 50 jobs and 120 course sections. Restored funds would also help soften the impact of budget cuts on critical academic and counseling services and campus safety.

While this revenue package is an important step in the right direction, we remain gravely concerned that the remaining $263 million of cuts proposed by the House would have a severe and lasting negative impact on student access and the quality of education our universities can offer our students.

This reduced cut is still greater than the current state appropriations of our six smallest campuses _combined._ If cuts of that magnitude are implemented, students on every UNC campus can still expect to see 1) larger classes; 2) less student advising and counseling; 3) higher student/faculty ratios; 4) lower retention and graduation rates; 5) delayed classroom upgrades and laboratory renovations; 6) fewer security personnel; 7) reductions in library services; and 8) reductions in maintenance. The House budget also proposes to cap our 2010-11 enrollment at current levels, resulting in thousands of North Carolina students from every walk of life being denied admission to a UNC campus.

Education is the key to North Carolina’s economic recovery. We therefore ask and encourage our legislative leaders to consider all reasonable options for further increasing State revenues."

And Scott Ralls, president of the community college system:

“Education has historically led North Carolina out of economic hardship, and House leaders have recognized the immediate, critical needs of all levels of education by developing a revenue package that restores some vital funding to K-12, community colleges and
universities. For our community colleges, these additional dollars will certainly not erase the full impact of the larger proposed cuts, but they do provide access to 3,700 more community college students and the
ability to save as many as 215 faculty and staff positions at a time when record numbers of North Carolinians are turning to their community
colleges. Additionally, restored tuition waivers allow our colleges to continue free training for designated groups including North Carolina’s essential public service professionals including local fire department, law enforcement and rescue and life-saving personnel.

“Our state’s leaders have the opportunity to carry on North Carolina’s tradition as the ‘Education State’ and to ensure that, especially in these difficult economic times, our community colleges will be able to meet the unprecedented demand for education and
retraining. All across our state, dislocated workers, new high school graduates and more are turning to our community colleges for hope and opportunity. North Carolina can’t afford for them to be turned
away.”

Are we reaching the point now that parental anger over reassignment could lead to major changes in the school system?

As noted in today's article, there are a whole lot of groups around who want to change the school system. Many of them will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. at Holly Springs Town Hall to see if they can find common ground.

"The more you impact, the more you'll alienate," said Kathleen Brennan, co-founder of Wake CARES. "At some point you'll reach the saturation point. Whether that's been reached remains to be seen."

Academic performance at North Carolina's public schools dropped significantly last year, and many school leaders say a higher standard for reading is the culprit.

Reading exams were tougher last year and the state raised its performance expectations for those tests as well. As a result, school officials say, fewer students met the state's new goals.

UNC system President Erskine Bowles and Scott Ralls, president of the state's community college system, nonetheless are hailing the state's higher standards today, saying it will only lead to brighter students.

Here's what they said:

"We commend the State Board of Education's efforts to raise performance standards for North Carolina students. North Carolina competes in a knowledge-based global economy, and the expectations set by our state's education systems must reflect the increased knowledge and skills required to be successful in today's workforce. 

Both the University of North Carolina and the N.C. Community Colleges have made improving retention and graduation rates our top priorities. Together with steps we are taking within our respective systems, the State Board's commitment to rigorous standards for students will lead to increasing numbers of North Carolina students finding success at our community colleges and universities. This is the right agenda for our students and our state."