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8/18/2009 3:33 AM

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Students are starting to migrate back to college and university campuses, and it's almost certain their wallets are thinner than they were last year.

But that's a song you could have sung just about any year in the last couple of decades. College costs have been reliably increasing, far outstripping the pace of inflation.

What makes this all the more frustrating for students and parents is a college education is increasingly the path to a middle-class life. More and more professions are demanding a bachelor's degree, or at least some college education, as a credential for entry. The days of finishing high school, getting a job at the local factory and enjoying security and a comfortable income until retirement are fading in the rearview mirror.

For some students, though, community colleges have emerged as a viable alternative to four-year institutions. They cost less, offer two-year degrees and vocational training and have class schedules that can accommodate job and child-care commitments. Many community colleges also have branch campuses, such as the Community College of Allegheny County, which offers classes at Washington Crown Center.

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Some students use them as a way to get required courses out of the way before transferring to pricier four-year institutions; others look for simple enrichment or retraining for new job opportunities. In many communities, they also teach English to recent immigrants.

In acknowledgment of their importance, the Obama administration has proposed investing $12 billion in community colleges over a 10-year period. Unveiling the American Graduation Initiative in Macomb, Mich., last month, President Obama explained, "jobs requiring at least an associate's degree are projected to grow twice as fast as jobs requiring no college experience ... We will not fill those jobs, or keep those jobs on our shores, without the training offered by community colleges."

Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, has front-and-center knowledge of community colleges - she teaches English at a community college outside Washington, D.C., and, in the Aug. 24 issue of Forbes magazine, writes that community colleges make sense from both policy and economic perspectives.

"I have often said that community colleges are one of America's best-kept secrets, which is why you won't find them on many of this year's 'best college' rankings," she explained. "But they are essential to our nation's higher education mission and uniquely able to address the needs of our communities."

This being the case, let's give community colleges the dollars and attention they deserve.

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