Many students who returned to school between 2008 and 2010 due to the economic downturn were not expecting the downturn to affect the academic environment as well. It has, however, and some who attended LBCC in 2009-10 were forced to make adjustments in their career choices when they discovered classes were too full, classes were dropped or programs discontinued, even if temporarily.
According to the college’s 2010-11 adopted budget:
“The primary issues facing Linn-Benton Community College are responding to record student demand with declining resources on a per student basis and making operations more efficient while remaining nimble enough to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
“Because of rapid enrollment gains driven by high unemployment, LBCC shifted resources from recruiting to retention. In this budget, we continue to invest in distance education through improving the web presence.”
In developing its current budget, LBCC responded to the unexpected rise in enrollment while it eventually prepares for an anticipated drop in enrollment as the area recovers from the recession and students find gainful employment.
One great impact on LBCC’s current budget is a shortfall in the state budget. According to its budget statement, LBCC expects that balancing the state budget will “almost certainly require deep cuts to non-mandatory programs like community colleges.”
The college is hoping that saving the revenue provided by the increased enrollment will help it survive the cutbacks.
While state budget reductions were less severe than previously budgeted, the total resources will drop by about $3 million compared to the projected amount.
But what does all of that mean for students? Will more classes be cut? Will classes be too full? Will entire programs be eliminated?
An impact that returning students will immediately notice is the tuition increase. The Board of Education increased tuition cost to $77 per credit hour, which is still $4 to $5 below the state average.
The good news is that most departments have budgetary increases, and programs that were funded last year are funded for this year.
As the LBCC budget message from president Greg Hamann stated: “One way to view the FY 2010-11 budget is to maintain current level of services while carefully looking for opportunities to streamline processes and gear up for possible reductions in services and programs in the future years.”
Although LBCC faces the pressure of diminishing resources and increasing student numbers, its goal is to ensure that the educational services are “innovative, relevant and of the highest quality.”
LINK:
<a rel=”http://www.linnbenton.edu/businessoffice/ADOPTED_BUDGET_2010-2011_FINAL.pdf ” href=”http://www.linnbenton.edu/businessoffice/ADOPTED_BUDGET_2010-2011_FINAL.pdf ” title=”http://www.linnbenton.edu/businessoffice/ADOPTED_BUDGET_2010-2011_FINAL.pdf “>http://www.linnbenton.edu/businessoffice/ADOPTED_BUDGET_2010-2011_FINAL.pdf </a>