Alamo District Caps Enrollment

Has this ever happened before in Texas? Trustees at the Alamo Community College District in San Antonio voted on Tuesday to limit enrollments through reduced course offerings, in response to state budget cuts. The decision will result in 2,100 fewer students attending, according to an article by Melissa Ludwig in the San Antonio Express-News.

This is a larger number than total enrollment at some community colleges in Texas. The article doesn't discuss the impact upon the state's Closing the Gaps initiative, but it can't be helpful, especially given the demographic profile of San Antonio students, who are unlikely to find educational opportunity elsewhere nearby.

Many colleges, according to reports from around the state, have cut specific programs to cope with the dire financial situation, but the decision of the Alamo trustees apparently applies to students in all fields. Fall registration will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the article.

The Alamo schools have already taken the customary steps now prevalent at colleges around the state: raising fees and selected tuition, early retirement incentives, and cutbacks in various programs and services. The district has "shed hundreds of employees," according to the article. The trustees opted not to raise tuition for all students at this time.

College officials assign responsibility to the governor and Texas Legislature. Two choice passages from the article:

 “I lay full blame on the governor for not supporting education in the state,” said trustee Joe Alderete. “We are very willing to provide the extra classes, it is just we were restricted in financing.”

Community colleges across the state were hit hard when state lawmakers slashed the amount it pays for employee health and retirement benefits, a loss of $11.5 million for the Alamo Colleges.

Cost-savings strategies, such as a retirement incentive, a hiring chill, cutting back on housekeeping and groundskeeping, and contracting for printing services, saved enough money to absorb that loss, said Diane Snyder, vice chancellor for administration.

But growing enrollment and flattening of revenue from all sources: taxes, tuition and state appropriations, left the district with an additional $10 million shortfall out of a $282 million budget.

And:

Enrollment at the colleges has swelled even as the economy tanked. That trend is reflected nationwide as people look to community colleges for retraining after being laid off, or as a cheaper alternative to a four-year university.

While demand has increased, Alamo Colleges has shed hundreds of employees and overhauled software systems for registration and financial aid, spawning a host of problems serving students in a timely manner.

Bruce Leslie, Alamo Colleges chancellor, said trustees will likely hear from students who can't get the classes they need because of reduced offerings, but there is little they can do to help.

“Those who can't get what they expect will be turning to you and expecting you to fix it for them,” Leslie said. “My advice is to encourage them to communicate with their (state) legislators.”

 

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But growing enrollment and flattening of revenue from all sources: taxes, tuition and state appropriations, left the district with an additional $10 million shortfall out of a $282 million budget.