Story Created:
May 8, 2009 at 9:40 PM EST
Story Updated:
May 8, 2009 at 11:15 PM EST
SOUTH BEND — It's a classic Catch 22. Ivy Tech Community College says it must expand to handle an increase in student demand. Doing that will cost big bucks. If state lawmakers can't foot the bill, school administrators say they may be forced to cap enrollment to save money.
It would be an unprecedented move for the community college, whose goal is to make to make higher education accessible and affordable to anyone who wants it.
At Ivy Tech's spring graduation ceremony Friday night, Jennifer Adams of Bourbon was one of hundreds in black robes and mortar boards repeating the same phrase.
"I never thought I'd graduate from college," she said, with a wide grin. "But I worked very hard to get here. It's been a challenge, but I'm glad I'm finished and getting my technical certificate in early childhood education. I want to be a teacher."
It's the culmination of a lifelong dream for Adams. She says it never would have come true without Ivy Tech.
"This is the only way I could afford college — through Ivy Tech and financial aid and scholarships," she said.
She's not alone.
Over the past 12 months or so, enrollment at Ivy Tech has skyrocketed, in large part, because of unemployed workers going back to school to re-train themselves for a new career.
While that education can cost the graduate as little as $6,000 for an associates' degree, the education itself doesn't come cheap.
"About 50 percent of our operating funds come from state appropriations, and about 50 pecent from student tuition. So, if it's a 50-50 split, but enrollment goes up and tuition's only paying half of that, then there's a gap," said Ivy Tech Executive Director of Marketing and Communication Tracie Davis.
The source of the gap is Indiana taxpayers.
Even though enrollment is up, their portion of the bill has remained the same.
"We use that money to keep buildings open, to pay faculty, to buy materials we need for schools. And, we cannot fill that gap without extra funding. So, we need to take the gap away," Davis said.
Last month, Ivy Tech administrators asked for an additional $22 million in funding from this year's state budget to close that gap.
Indiana House Speaker B. Pat Bauer (D-South Bend), who is also employed by Ivy Tech, says it looked like the funding increase would be a "done deal."
"We had three different versions of the budget near the end, and there was enough in the budget [to do that]. But now we go into a whole new situation since it didn't pass that night," Bauer said.
Governor Mitch Daniels has promised to call legislators into a special session in June to finalize a budget deal.
Because of the delay in budget passage, there is now another problem. State revenues took a nosedive, to the tune of a $255 million last month alone.
Now, Bauer doubts Ivy Tech's funding will be there once the final budget is passed.
"$20 million is probably unrealistic. We had put $5 million in from where it was before. But, losing $255 million in expected revenue makes things very tough. It's just...we're in tough times and a tough crisis," Bauer said.
The only other solution, Ivy Tech administrators say?
"One potential way to address that gap is to cap enrollment, so that student tuition is equal to state appropriation," Davis said.
Indiana's Commission for Higher Education says that's a dangerous road to walk down.
"Capping enrollment at the state's open-door two-year technical/community college system is an unprecedented action that should not be taken. The Indiana Commission for Higher Education believes there are better alternatives," wrote Commission Communications Manager Aja May in a statement Friday.
"With these realities, the Commission cautions Ivy Tech from acting quickly in this manner," May continued. "The Commission firmly believes that short-term solutions can be found and encourages Ivy Tech to:
Expand the use of distance delivery (serving more students without space limitations)
Consider class size decisions (class sizes may need to be larger, Ivy Tech generally has many classes with fewer than 16 students, especially after the first few weeks of classes when some students drop courses)
Hire more part-time adjunct faculty to meet immediate needs (often student tuition revenue will cover the cost of additional part time instructors)
Ivy Tech administrators called the suggestions "temporary solutions to a long term problem" Friday.
Ivy Tech President Tom Snyder told WSBT caps may be the only realistic solution if money from the state budget can't be increased.
"We have to live within our budget, and we know the state is under a lot of stress budget-wise. But we're under a lot of stress to get people re-trained and re-educated. So we're going to have to find a way to balance the two," Snyder said.
One other suggestion to do that is an increase Ivy Tech's tuition.
Snyder said that remains a last resort.
"Our goal is to keep our tuition increases under 5 percent per year. Adding an extra 5 percent tuition increase for us is $150 to $200 a month. That's a car payment or a house payment or a lot of bus fare for our students. Our students don't have that kind of money," Snyder said.
It's all left administrators with a tough choice ahead.
"It's a heartbreaking decision for us because of our mission to provide an open-door education. However, we cannot deliver the quality we guarantee to our students with that funding gap," Davis said.
It's a heartbreaking choice for Adams, too.
"If they had put a cap on enrollment, someone at the poverty line might have nowhere to go. It would be devastating to them. They have find some other way. Education needs to be at the forefront. They taught me that" she said.
Snyder says Ivy Tech Administrators in Bloomington have formed a committee to begin studying all of the school's options.
The committee hopes to issue a final recommendation on whether to cap enrollment by the end of June.
