By Zack Anchors

Staff Writer

    A new report by the Governor’s Community College
Advisory Council (CCAC) says Maine’s community college system needs to
grow, and Southern Maine Community College is prepared to do just that.
But the fate of several projects SMCC has to expand it’s programs and
services will be contingent upon funding, and particularly on how
closely the state sticks to the CGAC’s recommendation of an additional
$20.3 million for the system as a whole. SMCC President Jim Ortiz said
the state’s community college system—the smallest system in the
country—is well worth the money.

    “The investment that is being put forward is a
strategic investment that is essential to the state’s future,” he said.

    One major project SMCC is pursuing is a plan to
build a new campus on the site of the Brunswick Naval Air Station,
which will be closing in 2011. The campus would be geared towards
advanced technologies, with a particular focus on manufacturing. The
campus would offer the basic course requirements for students and would
specialize in composite technologies related to boatbuilding. Ortiz
said boatbuilding is an important industry in Maine and especially in
the Brunswick area.

    Currently 4,800 students are enrolled at SMCC but
Ortiz projects that number will increase to 10,000 within four or five
years.

    “By that time Brunswick would be up and running with around 2000 students,” Ortiz said.

    There are currently 12,500 students enrolled in the
seven campuses of the community college system, with about 40 percent
at SMCC.

    Besides the potential Brunswick campus, SMCC is also
planning to continue improving its Fort Preble campus while finding
other ways to expand beyond that campus.

    “We’ll continue to enhance what we have,” said
Ortiz. “We’ll also enhance the business campus near the mall and
promote distance learning.”

    Several buildings on the Fort Preble campus that are
in needs of major improvements may benefit from increased funding to
SMCC. Ortiz said a new cafeteria needs to be built in the middle of
campus and  the health science buildings need improvements. 

    The Fort Preble campus is reaching its limitations
in terms of size and facilities, Communications Director Carol Hammond
said, but the college is still working to maximize the campuses
potential. A lack of classroom space and a shortage of housing for
students have been two growing challenges facing the college. A
residence hall currently under construction that is designed to house
300 students will alleviate the housing shortage when it opens next
fall. Some additional classroom space was gained when the Maine Center
for Enterprise Development moved from SMCC to the University of
Southern Maine and Ortiz said the current cafeteria could be converted
to classroom space once a new cafeteria is built.

    The college was also considering offering weekend
classes to further utilize the existing classrooms, Hammond said.

    Although the naval air station in Brunswick will not
be available for SMCC until the base closes in 2011, the college is
working with Bruswick-area businesses and organizations to find an
interim location to move into in the meantime.

    After the base closes, the campus would move from
those locations to the base site. Hammond said the facilities at the
air station are nearly ideal for a new campus, including housing that
could be converted into student dormitories.

    Ortiz acknowledged that statewide concern over tax
issues has created an environment in which increases in spending may
not come easily in Augusta. But he said he is hopeful that lawmakers
will understand that the community college system funding is not in
line with its growth. Maine’s community college system is only four
years old, but enrollment of degree-seeking students has increased 47
percent since it was established. In that same period, funding has
increased only 10 percent.

    Hammond said that the school’s dependence on state funding is tied directly to its core mission.

    “Our whole mission is to keep tuition affordable,”
said Hammond. “If you do the math, and add up what it costs to keep the
campus going and add up all the tuition, it doesn’t match up.”

    The CCAC’s report, titled “Jobs and Opportunities:
The Power and Potential of Maine’s Community Colleges,” was intended to
assess the makeup of Maine’s future workforce needs and to explore how
the state’s community colleges can fulfill those needs. The report
concluded that significant investment in the colleges is required to
ensure that Maine’s businesses and individuals have the necessary
skills to compete in the global economy.

    “Our state’s community colleges offer an affordable,
accessible, and efficient pathway to higher education for thousands of
Maine people,” said co-chair of CCAC Joanna Jones. “Now, Maine needs to
turn this pathway into a multi-lane highway.”