Following an overview of the growth of publicly supported junior colleges in Colorado and corresponding state legislation and policies of the Colorado State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational Education, this paper presents the present position of the Board on issues of student access and the establishment and maintenance of community colleges. Their long-term goal is that every Colorado resident above the age of 16, not currently in high school, should have access to a comprehensive community college within thirty minutes from his residence. However, a number of state-level decisions have contributed to a reduction in enrollment among some rural community colleges; these include the establishment of seven community colleges, increases in tuition, statutory limitations on local district funding increases, and curtailment of state participation in local capital construction. Enrollment declines at rural colleges, caused by new urban colleges, tuition surcharges, and elimination of state support for intercollegiate athletic programs, have been offset in some cases by the development of new and unique programs. The State Board supports the following ideas to increase student access and enrollment: reducing or eliminating in-state tuition at rural institutions, limiting numbers of high school students at doctoral-granting institutions, and reducing student-faculty ratios at small colleges with increases in state support. (MB)