PHOENIX — The sputtering economy is prompting community colleges to re-evaluate how they meet challenges, including budgets, enrollments, fund raising and even employee morale.
Transparency was a common theme among four community colleges that shared their strategies in addressing those issues during the annual American Association of Community Colleges convention.
Sean Fanelli, president of the Nassau Community College (NCC) in New York, which serves about 22,000 students annually, said he told faculty, staff and students exactly what the college would have to do to if it had to cut 10 percent from its state funding during the current fiscal year, as New York Gov. David Patterson had initially recommended. The college’s plan would include cutting salaries by $3.3 million, reducing retirement benefits by $1.2 million and increasing tuition by $50 for the academic year.
NCC and other New York colleges also crafted a communication strategy to let lawmakers know the implications of such cuts. Basically, they told state officials that cutting funds meant cutting capacity at a time when two-year colleges were being called on to help in the economy recovery through education and job training.
“We had to be on point. We told them, ‘If you cut us, we lose capacity,’” Fanelli said.
The message seemed to have resonated with state lawmakers and the governor, who opted not to cut current fiscal year funding for community colleges, Fanelli said. But Fanelli stopped short of calling it a victory, noting level-funding as costs continue to increase still amounts to a decrease in funding. And the colleges now are preparing for the possibility of proposed cuts for the next fiscal year.
In Pennsylvania, Joe Forrester, president of the Community College of Beaver County, also made his plans known for budget cuts. His approach included input from faculty and support unions.
His “compression planning” included focus groups that included administrators, union representatives and other in crafting ideas to saving money or to increase revenue. Among the issues the group discussed was whether the college had any unused capacity and how the college could operate more efficiently. (Off the table were topics such as layoff.)
The group suggested cost-cutting maneuvers such as using electronic forms more often, automating certain administrative processes and reducing energy costs, Forrester said. It also mulled how the college could save or generate $100,000. The discussion lead to a plan to restructure custodial work schedules for more efficiency, shifting to on-demand publishing for all college publications and even permitting logging of wooded areas on campus for additional funding.
Having unions involved in the process was critical to ensuring buy in, Forrester said.
“It’s always about communication and the inclusion of our staff,” he said.
Providing a simple, clear message of potential budget cuts to faculty, staff and students is also important to Evelyn Jorgenson, president of Moberly Area Community College in Missouri. In Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon said he wouldn’t cut funding for community college—if they promised not to increase tuition and fees.
Jorgenson spelled out to her staff and faculty what that plan would mean for her institution. She said she tried to convey it honestly, compassionately and in context (for example, pay increases would be limited to 2 percent). She also made sure she was available for questions and visible on campus.
“The last thing you want to do is make hard decisions and then hide in your office,” Jorgenson said.
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