As nearly every community college district in the country faces exponential enrollment growth and greater demands for workforce training for nontraditional students, the need for a comprehensive campus master plan becomes evident and more critical.

Restrictive enrollment opportunities at four-year universities have failed to keep up with the number of high school graduates; thus, community colleges are increasingly viewed as a convenient, high-value alternative. The percentage of credit-seeking students under age 22 who enrolled in community colleges rose from 39.4 percent in 1997 to 42 percent in 2001 and had risen to 45 percent by 2005 (American Association of Community Colleges 2006; Watts and Barista 2005). Furthermore, the number of nontraditional students seeking vocational and workforce training has also increased, adding to the challenge for community colleges to accelerate their program offerings.

Creating a campus master plan is the first step in the process of managing enrollment growth; however, the plan is not just a document about buildings, parking spaces, classrooms, and square footage. The plan should be viewed as an investment in the future of the institution and a way to link the college’s mission and vision statements to the physical learning environment. It is an exercise in long-term forecasting with a keen awareness of the college’s growth potential and the changing educational needs  

Alan Colyer and Chuck Seeger. 2007. Crafting the Master Plan: A Collaborative Challenge for Community Colleges. Planning for Higher Education. 35(3): 63–69.