1. Community colleges have faced budget cuts and hiring freezes during the recession that have negatively impacted working conditions and delayed improvements, but enrollment has increased. 2. President Obama's community college plan allocates $12 billion over 10 years to help expand access to education and training. Some critics argue this unfairly benefits community colleges over other higher education sectors. 3. While the funding increase may modestly boost college budgets, maintaining market share after the recession ends will be challenging given competition for students and limited flexibility and online options at many community colleges.