This article presents results from the 2012 National Survey of Access and Finance Issues conducted by the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges (NCSDCC), an affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges, and includes a comparison of survey results from previous years dating back to 2003, with the exception of 2005 and 2006 when the survey was not conducted. This survey highlights critical access, system capacity, and funding challenges faced by public community colleges, regional universities, and flagship universities. Survey Instruments are reviewed by a panel of NCSDCC members, community college scholars. and practitioners. There are 51 members of the NCSDCC. Because Georgia has a dual system, responses are obtained from both the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. Responses from Arizona, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania come from each state's respective community college association. New York's response is from the State University of New York system office. Survey results are presented in five areas: (1) capacity; (2) facilities; (3) tuition; (4) financial aid; and the special problem of (5) financing rural community colleges. Four implications can be drawn from the survey findings discussed here. First, public higher education is vulnerable to competing state priorities as a means to balance state budgets, especially in difficult economic times. Community colleges, public access regional universities, and flagship universities seeking to maintain affordability are all affected. Second, a lack of state facilities funding coupled with increases in deferred maintenance may threaten public higher education institutions' capacity to produce more earners of first certificates, as well as associate's and bachelor's degrees. However, the political reality is that capital resources may not be forthcoming. Third, affordable tuition and adequate state funded student financial aid are essential because increasing numbers of future jobs will require postsecondary education. Finally, many of the challenges described here may be compounded by geography, particularly for community colleges in rural areas with low property wealth. Previous survey reports are contained in the appendix.