Students attending community college in Rowan and Cabarrus counties will still
see the open door policy they have in the past. There may just be a waiting room
behind that door.
Rowan-Cabarrus Community College President Richard
L. Brownell announced Monday the college’s intention to cap future enrollment,
and the board placed an immediate, indefinite moratorium on new program
development and new construction.
Rowan-Cabarrus is the first community college in
North Carolina to make such an announcement, but according to N.C. Community
College System President Martin Lancaster, the college is no different than any
other in the state.
“I can’t see where he is doing anything that
other presidents don’t do on a regular basis, which is to manage resources,”
he said.
The announcement came after the N.C. Community
College System told colleges they will have to return 4 percent of their
operating budgets back to the state because of declining state revenues.
Rowan-Cabarrus officials anticipate they might have
to give back another 2 percent, for a total of 6 percent for the year.
Lancaster said community colleges have never been
able to offer all the courses they want, and each semester, community colleges
around the state have students who would like to be taking more classes.
After reading Brownell’s statement from Monday’s
meeting, Lancaster said it seemed as though Rowan-Cabarrus plans to fill the
classes on a first come-first serve basis, something not new to community
colleges, he said.
Lancaster said all community colleges have to turn
students away when classes get full.
But Rowan-Cabarrus Senior Vice President Jerry
Chandler said the college had the financial flexibility in the past to add
additional courses to accommodate students. Now, they may not.
Chandler also noted that unlike many four-year
colleges and universities, Rowan-Cabarrus only has two lecture halls that can
hold more than 30 students on each campus, making expanding classes even harder.
He added that making classes that large would go
against the philosophy of a community college, to keep classes hands-on with
individual attention.
Chandler added that Rowan-Cabarrus struggles to fund
a multi-campus institution. Even though the system had provided additional
funding for multi-campus community colleges in recent years, the level still
falls far below the actual cost, Chandler said. Rowan-Cabarrus must still absorb
an unfunded $600,000 in expenses.
Lancaster said each institution receives funds via
the same formula. He agrees that multi-campus community colleges are underfunded,
but that problem is not new and Rowan-Cabarrus is not alone in that battle.
“This is not a cut of historical proportions,”
Lancaster said.
Community colleges often deal with these money
pinches by reducing administrative staff, curtailing travel and cutting
supplies, Lancaster said.
Last spring, Central Piedmont Community College in
Charlotte canceled 250 summer classes to save more than $400,000.
Rowan-Cabarrus already has cut back on needed
administration, according to Chandler.
He said the college will first look at limiting arts
and sciences, business administration and information systems classes. After
that, officials are not yet sure where the cutbacks will come.
Although plans for a new classroom building at the
Cabarrus campus have been canceled, the college will go through with plans to
renovate the 100 Building on the Rowan campus. Chandler said officials will
review both campuses’ master plans in the coming months.
Rowan-Cabarrus officials reiterate that the state is
predicting worse conditions for next year, but Lancaster said no one has a
crystal ball. He said Gov. Mike Easley indicated he does not want state budget
problems to affect the classroom, however, Lancaster does not see how to avoid
that.
Lancaster said he imagines Brownell is frustrated,
as all the system presidents are, with the inadequate funding, but his college
is no different than the others.
Contact Jillian McCartney at 704-797-4253 or jmccartney@salisburypost.com
.
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