The results of enrollment growth on the campus of Mississippi State University - and by and large in the rest of the state's higher education and community college system - are tangible and visible. MSU is dealing with the reality of crossing the 20,000-student threshold this fall. Parking is a challenge. Housing is maxed out on campus and in the private sector. Classes are large. More instructors and graduate assistants are being employed to handle teaching duties both as a means to deal with increasing enrollment and as a budget tool. It has been observed and correctly so that hard times drive people back to school to gain new skills. Enrollment at Hinds Community College has increased by 30 percent over the past three years and as Eric Clark, the executive director of the state's community college board told Mississippi Public Broadcasting this week, there are positives and negatives.