Where it hurts: from the Muscatine Journal (Muscatine, Iowa). (What Others Are Saying).

For the first time, more students are attending community colleges rather than Iowa's three state-run universities. A report released by the Iowa Board of Regents office said 73,805 students are enrolled in classes at Iowa's 15 community colleges, compared to the 71,521 students enrolled at Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa.

That's a trend that really is not too surprising when you think about it....

Now we need state funding to be more equitable. The amount of money the state spends per community college student is less than what is spent on other college students. In 2001, the state spent $2,136 per community college student, $3,194 per private college students, and $11,237 for each student enrolled at the three regents universities.

And to top it off, community colleges have taken the brunt of funding cuts. State appropriations for the community colleges dropped 15 percent over the past two years, for a loss of more than $25 million. These reductions have left community colleges with very little funding to pursue strategic directions for the future.

During our recent political candidate interviews, we heard several of our Iowa legislators mention the need to restore funding to community colleges, that community colleges were hit the hardest and that students educated at our community colleges are more likely to stay in Iowa when it comes time to pursue a career.

We hope they weren't just "saying the right things" during their interviews.

Our legislators need to make sure they act on their words regarding community colleges when they go to Des Moines in January.