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The numbers were already bad, and they keep getting worse, for the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD). Given the weak economy, administrators planned for a 5 percent reduction in state funding in the 2010-11 academic year. The actual reduction ballooned to more than 7.5 percent, an additional $13 million that DCCCD would be forced to do without. The cutbacks scuttled some planned investments. But educators took solace in knowing they would avoid layoffs--for now. Leaders reportedly are bracing for an additional $18.2 million cut this fall, leaving critics to wonder just how much more the district can take. It is a harsh reality--one U.S. community colleges are realizing at an alarming rate. The nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that nearly half of all states have enacted or are considering major cuts to their higher education budgets in the coming academic year. And the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. By all accounts, this is more than just some post-recession hangover. Experts say the changes mark a seismic shift in community college funding, one that will profoundly alter how these institutions apply for, receive, and use public and private dollars for years to come. Survival will require a number of tough choices. Almost across the board, community college administrators say their No. 1 priority is to minimize the impact of funding cuts on students. But even the best intentions are just that: intentions.

Lone Star College had a unique opportunity in 2000 when it began planning its new CyFair campus in suburban Houston. The school wasn't retrofitting existing buildings or contending with entrenched attitudes about what type of physical environment best supported learning. So when it designed its sprawling 550,000-square-foot campus, paid for with $90 million from a bond referendum and $20 million from state and local sources, Lone Star's clean-slate approach resulted in the creation of an academic oasis complete with modern classrooms, a man-made lake, marshlands, and fields of native grasses. Now, five years after the campus accepted its first students, Lone Star-CyFair says its modular classrooms, outdoor areas for studying and socializing, and even its trendy Starbucks coffee bar are helping to solve an age-old challenge of commuter colleges--students don't just drop in to attend classes, they linger, interact with peers, and learn through collaboration. This article describes how community colleges are discovering the connection between an innovative approach to facilities design and academic success. A study by the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers that probed the impact of facilities on student recruitment and retention found that the quality of campus facilities ranked sixth among the characteristics considered most important by students. Similarly, when asked what factors were "extremely important" or "very important" in the decision process, the top five responses all related to physical resources, including a facility in the chosen major, classrooms, the quality of the library, and technological capabilities.