Declining enrollment causing budget issues for College of the Desert

College of the Desert board of trustees unanimously approved its tentative budget in late June, highlighting the urgent need to address "bleak" projections in the years ahead, as a result of the state's multi-billion dollar budget deficit.

Last week, the college also addressed how its also investing in services that remove obstacles to student retention and graduation, with the goal of increasing enrollment, and therefore, revenue.

The following highlights are projections that COD made for its proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year based on state information available at the time.

College of the Desert's general fund has tentative $149 million budget

With the combined general fund, which is made up of both the unrestricted and restricted funds, College of the Desert adopted a tentative budget of about $149 million for the upcoming fiscal year. (Each district's total budget includes both unrestricted and restricted monies. Unrestricted dollars are monies a district can choose how to spend. Restricted dollars must be used for certain purposes, usually in compliance with federal or state regulations.)

A large portion of COD's funding is based is tied to the Student Centered Funding Formula, which was implemented at all California community colleges in the 2018-19 academic year. As such, 70% of COD's funding is based on enrollment, while 30% is tied to success and equity supplemental funding. Salaries and benefits make up 84% of COD’s operational budget. The final budget will be presented to the board of trustees for consideration and approval on Sept. 20.

Compared to the 2023-24 budget, COD will cut its $1 million contribution to other post-employment benefits and its $580,000 allocation to the capital outlay fund for deferred maintenance. This year's state budget does not allocate funds for deferred maintenance, and COD does not anticipate receiving any for the next couple of years.

COD also has minimal ongoing contingencies. Last year, that figure was at approximately $3.8 million. All the revenue COD has received is already earmarked and allocated, leaving no financial cushion except for any unfilled vacancy positions.

College of the Desert implemented cost-saving measures this year

Moving forward, if COD doesn't start generating growth, it will need to make operational decisions, said Rodrigo Garcia, COD's vice president of business services. Earlier this year, COD implemented a soft hiring freeze to reduce expenditures, "a preemptive measure so we can preserve the jobs that the college currently supports," said Laura Hope, COD's interim president/superintendent last week.

COD could lose $2.2 million if Indio's campus fails to reach 1,000 full-time equivalent students and an additional $2.2 million if COD, in general, does not reach 10,300 full-time equivalent students by the end of the 2024-25 academic year. COD's enrollment is projected around 9,600 full-time equivalent students for the 2023-24 academic year, down from about 10,732 in 2019-20 when the pandemic hit. (Community colleges receive roughly $7,000 per student.)

"I think, as a community, if we can make those determinations together, then everybody will feel like they're making a contribution," Hope said at the board meeting. "Sometimes that's what's necessary in California — that we have to lock arms and make some hard decisions for the short-term. The state is telling us this is a two-year problem. It is not. This is a four-year problem, at least. And so just being proactive right now, we think is an important aspect of our planning."

Subsequently, COD is focusing on targeted initiatives both in and out of the classroom, with goals to not only convert part-time students to full-time but to improve student retention by reducing barriers for student success. For example, COD will launch its inaugural program this fall to support young adults who have been through juvenile detention systems; support efforts to expand dual enrollment programs and connect students to all COD campuses across the valley via the RoadRunner Express, a new and free shuttle service; and a $5 textbook rental pilot program.

As COD's budget is also linked to student outcomes, a bottleneck course study presentation at last week's board meeting highlighted the critical role of improving student retention to boost enrollment and support progress toward graduation.

The study identified 10 courses that students most frequently waitlist. Among these, four classes stood out the most, including English Composition, Introduction to Ethnic Studies, Fundamentals of Chemistry, as well Human Anatomy and Physiology. Some sections of these courses typically have smaller seat capacities, ranging from 24 to 35 students. While COD is over its faculty obligation number, the college has hired four full-time faculty members, who will start in the fall, to address these needs.

The study also showed that for the past five years, 25 courses — including two of the bottleneck courses identified earlier — have failed to meet COD's floor goal of a 69.7% success rate. High failure rates force students to repeat courses, which, in turn, leads to insufficient seating capacity.

To boost success rates in its courses, COD is now working towards revamping its tutoring services to reduce the stigma of seeking help to support student achievement. Fast Track classes, condensed from the usual 16-week sessions, also offer students the flexibility to accelerate their goals.

The board of trustees acknowledged the study’s relevance to the budget, emphasizing its importance for using data to guide future decisions.

When is COD's next board of trustees meeting?

COD will hold its next board meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 16 at the college's boardroom at 43-500 Monterey Ave., Building C, in Palm Desert. COD also livestreams its board meetings on YouTube at this link: youtube.com/CollegeoftheDesertOfficial

Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Declining enrollment causing budget issues for College of the Desert