Officials: Pandemic won't delay CT community college merger FacebookTwitterEmail 1of3 Views of the Housatonic Community College campus, in Bridgeport, Conn. April 4, 2018.Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media file photoShow MoreShow Less 2of3 3of3 The COVID-19 pandemic won’t delay the Connecticut state college system’s plans to merge its 12 community colleges by the 2023-24 school year, officials say. In a report to its regional higher education accreditation agency, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities outlined its recent progress toward a consolidated Connecticut State Community College, or CT State. The updates to the plan, called Students First, were accepted in a letter from New England Commission of Higher Education this week. The accreditors also tasked CSCU with next steps to remain on track for the merger.