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Community college leaders tell committee enrollment is rising and system is expanding workforce programs

Joint Interim Committees — Education Trust Fund budget hearings · February 2, 2026

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Summary

Chancellor Baker and ACCS leaders told the committee enrollment has grown, ACCS serves more than 182,000 students and is expanding health‑care and apprenticeship programs with recent grants and partnerships to meet employer demand.

Chancellor Baker and ACCS presenters framed the Alabama Community College System as the state’s workforce training engine. Baker described facility and deferred‑maintenance gaps discovered while expanding the system and said the board expects to direct bond proceeds into a deferred maintenance account for schools.

ACCS presenters said enrollment has grown about 6% annually since 2020 and that the system served more than 182,000 students last year, with more than 75% of completers remaining in Alabama. Doctor Cox highlighted ACCS’s health‑care training reach — noting high pass rates on the NCLEX and recent grant funding used to open LPN and allied‑health programs, with roughly $30 million in grants to expand programs and 42 program openings cited.

Keith Phillips described ACCS’s work with industry on apprenticeships and economic development, citing registered apprenticeships, Federation of Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) partnerships and an example of Eli Lilly’s site selection influenced by local college programs. Presenters emphasized dual enrollment growth (about 40,000 dual‑enrolled students) and work‑based learning ties to local employers.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about dual enrollment counts, the definition of locations (130 physical sites counted as campuses/leased sites) and how grant dollars translate to program openings; ACCS staff offered to provide more detail on breakdowns by campus and program.