Positive Reactions to Negative Budgets – In the midst of an economic
downturn, Central Piedmont Community College (NC) didn’t just decrease
expenses. It increased revenues. Discover how the college worked this
fiscal magic in the June Leadership Abstracts.
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to: https://www.league.org/publication/abstracts/leadership/labs0603.htm
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Weathering the Storm: Positive Reactions to Negative Budgets
Tony Zeiss and Becky Paneitz
Economic downturns have decreased budgets within community colleges to
unprecedented levels. Not only are public revenues down significantly, but enrollments are up, and competition from the private sector is increasing. Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) has 70,000 students, six campuses, and not enough public money to support them properly. In reviewing the revenue stream, the administration at CPCC knew that something had to change. In order to survive, the college became more market sensitive, more efficient, more customer focused, and more entrepreneurial. CPCC became a better institution for addressing these fiscal challenges because the situation required that all campus constituencies work together.
Community and technical college presidents and administrative personnel can develop positive reactions to these negative budgets. Campus leaders must stay optimistic and develop and maintain a positive institutional image. CPCC launched a double-pronged approach; it has not only decreased expenses, but it has also increased revenues.
DECREASING EXPENSES
CPCC has worked diligently for the past couple of years on various ways to decrease expenses while protecting the quality of education it offers and minimizing negative impact on its students and employees. Seeking better efficiencies of operation is a preferable solution than reducing services or trimming personnel. Specific steps were taken by the instructional unit at CPCC, including increasing class size from a 15-to-1 student-teacher ratio to a 19-to-1 ratio. Additional students were added only to classes where quality was not jeopardized. The college’s Virtual Campus offered additional classes with higher student capacity, and used teacher assistants to help faculty members with grading, answering student questions, and completing paperwork. To ensure optimal classroom space and time use, CPCC purchased room-scheduling software that matches the appropriately sized room, based on student enrollment, to each class section.
Click on the attachment to read the remainder of the article.
Dr. Susan Salvador
Office for Student Services
06/17/2003 |