Dealing with the Recession at the Community Colleges Presented by Julie Ouska, CIO/VP Information Technologies Colorado Community College System September 15, 2009

Colorado Community College System Fun Facts CCCS STATUTORY MISSION: Open access – we admit anyone who wants to go to college. Career and Technical Education (CTE) – In 2008, approximately 7,500 CTE certificates and degrees were awarded to postsecondary students at the 13 system colleges. The total number of secondary students enrolled in high school CTE programs topped 92,000. Transfer to public four-year colleges and universities – more than 5,000 students each year Basic Skills – 10% of our full-time-equivalent students. One million adults have no post secondary training in Colorado. Workforce Development – As of AY 2008, more than 126,000 Colorado workers have been trained through our programs. Community Colleges train more than half of the state’s nurses and more than 90 percent of the first responders

More Fun Facts CCCS STUDENT INFORMATION: CCCS serves more than 117,000 undergraduate students annually through 13 colleges. In addition, we train more than 11,000 workers each year through various other programs, making us the largest higher education system in the state, with more than 128,000 students. CCCS full-time-equivalent student enrollment is 48,004 in FY 2008/09. In Fall 2008, community colleges educated 38 percent of the resident undergraduates in public institutions in Colorado. Community colleges serve 45 percent of all minority undergraduate students in higher education in Colorado. 27% of our students are minorities. 59% of our students are female. 55% of our students are under 25 years old. 92% of our students are Colorado residents.

Today Resident tuition at Community Colleges is $2,649 annually for a full-time student Our enrollment is up approximately 20% with ranges from 2% to 35% at the various colleges Our general funding is down

We aren’t done dealing with the recession Major impact to be felt in two years when stimulus money backfill ends Potential for further Higher Ed budget cuts We need to change how we operate If we think things will go back to normal we are mistaken, this is a fundamental shift in our economy

So what are we doing about it? Federal stimulus funds are for one time expenditures only – cannot be used for operational expenses Budgets are flat, which means increases are being absorbed into the budget by reductions in other areas. Basic stuff: Not filling some positions, looking at maintenance contracts, reallocating some expenses back to the colleges

Not-so-basic Looking at other things that may be more cost effective either centrally or locally Looking at work to see if we should be doing it at all or if work is duplicated Working with business users to make sure we are effectively using existing technology Looking at other technologies that might reduce work or staffing requirements

System-wide Increasing some class sizes Limiting enrollment in some programs Looking at more online or hybrid courses to reduce facility needs Not capping enrollment overall Not reducing remedial education Not changing our mission or scope – but making sure we stay within mission & scope and that we are adding value

The Future? Online education/delivery Just in Time Education More adjuncts Outcome measurements need to match reality – is it just graduation rates or ? Students, parents & employers that are value- conscious and have specific goals in mind. Cost effective education Loan avoidance

The Future? We don’t believe state funding will return to previous levels, ever. Alternatives are necessary.

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