During tough economic times many companies cut back because their demand is down. The opposite is true for us here at Clark College.
In a lingering economic recession, our enrollment numbers have grown dramatically – at the same time that state funding has been cut.
Last fall – and again this quarter – we have welcomed an all-time record enrollment of more than 16,000 for-credit students. That record enrollment extended to our adult basic education and GED classes at Town Plaza, as well as our Running Start program. It's also an increase that came as state investments in community colleges declined 11 percent.
How did Clark College deal with those reductions? With support from throughout the college community, we filled classrooms and added new sections. We increased class sizes.
We used one-time funds to balance our budget. We hired more part-time faculty. We did it all by carefully trimming our budget in ways that – as much as possible – minimized the impact on our students, who faced a tuition increase. However, tuition only pays for a small percentage of a student's education.
In addition, during the past year, with support from our partners at the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council and WorkSource, Clark College has received close to $1.4 million in one-time stimulus funds to provide training – the largest amount awarded to any community college in the state.
Required by law to submit a balanced state budget, Gov. Chris Gregoire submitted a supplemental 2010 budget that would mean additional budget cuts for Washington's community and technical colleges.
At a time when job recovery is priority one, that doesn't make sense. We can't afford more cuts.
For example, the Worker Retraining Program helps laid-off workers by providing training for the new skills and knowledge needed to successfully reenter the work force. Worker retraining program graduates experience an 81 percent job placement rate.
The legislature provides $28.8 million per year in funding for 6,200 worker retraining Full-time equivalent students. The level of funding hasn't changed since 1997. Last year, community and technical colleges served more than 9,000 worker retraining FTEs. We hope that the legislature will consider funding 6,000 additional worker retraining FTE enrollment slots beginning next year.
Washington state's competitive edge depends on a skilled and talented workforce. To help us in achieving that goal, we ask our legislators to:
- Help us maintain open access for students by minimizing budget cuts.
- Provide the necessary financial aid that our low-income students need to attend college and prepare for new jobs and careers.
- Increase investments in the Worker Retraining Program to meet the unprecedented demand that will continue for years to come.
- Allow two-year colleges to maintain flexibility to manage local programs and meet local employer needs.
At a recent meeting of community college presidents and trustees, Gov. Gregoire noted that an all-cuts budget would be "unjust, unwise and unfair."
We agree. We join the governor in urging legislators to seek options to help us invest in our future.
