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In a presentation to the Joint Education Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, Dr. Jeff Cox, president of the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS), shared the system’s priorities and requested funding support from lawmakers.
After the presentation, he received praise from the room, including from the committee chairs.
“I just want to say thank you for your vision on Propel and what you’re trying to do here. I think it’s a world class innovation and we’re going to have much success in the state,” said Sen. David Craven, R-Randolph, following Cox’s presentation.
Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, a chair of the committee, echoed Craven, saying, “The direction you’re going is exactly what we want done.”
Cox’s presentation followed a Fiscal Research Division (FRD) overview of the community college system’s budget.
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NCCCS budget takeaways
The NCCCS is composed of 58 colleges with about 615,000 students enrolled in at least one course, according to the FRD presentation. The system is designated in the General Statutes as “the primary lead agency for delivering workforce development training, adult literacy training, and adult education programs.”
The system largely distributes funding according to the instructional hours at each college. The metric that represents those hours is called a full-time equivalent, or FTE — one FTE is equal to 512 hours of instruction.
FTE enrollment has been on a steady rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the FRD presentation. Also on the rise is the number of high school students dually enrolled in community colleges.
When it comes to funding community colleges, the state generally provides for administration, instructional costs, and support services, while local funds cover things like construction, building operations, and maintenance.
State funds, federal funds, and tuition are pooled and funneled through NCCCS before arriving at individual community colleges; separately, local funds go to respective colleges.
Certain courses receive more funds from the state per FTE based on a tier classification system. For example, nursing courses receive more funding than biology courses.
There is also a base allotment — $2.8 million to each community college — to cover administration costs and to pay the president of the college’s salary. Other institutional and administration funding is distributed based on FTE and whether a college is a multi-campus center.
Additionally, there is a small allotment of $18 million total that is distributed based on colleges’ performance in six measures:
- Success rate in college-level English courses
- Success rate in college-level math courses
- First-year curriculum student progression
- Curriculum student completion
- Licensure and certification passing rates
- Performance of students who transfer to a four-year institution
Some colleges also receive categorical allotments outside of the formula funding.
Finally, other funding goes to workforce development programs, small business centers, and ApprenticeshipNC.
NCCCS president requests funding
Cox, in his presentation to lawmakers on legislative priorities, said it is important to harness the “once in a generation period of economic growth in North Carolina.”
Cox shared that enrollment at all N.C community colleges has increased 17% in the last four years.
He emphasized his commitment to Propel NC, which he described as a new business model for community colleges. He said its mission aligns with business and industry needs, as well as the priorities of the General Assembly.
Included in Cox’s requests were $68.5 million in recurring funds for workforce sectors seeking FTE value increases. The Health Care, Information Technology, and Public Safety and First Responders sectors would see increases, among others.
He also asked for a 5.8% increase to the base funding level to community colleges, which he said hadn’t seen a major update since the 1980s.
“People hear that base funding, and it sounds like administrative bloat. Let me assure you that’s not what this is,” Cox said. “Think about counselors, advisors, mental health for students. We’ve got a lot of needs that are here today that weren’t around in 1980.”
Finally, he asked for $6 million to ensure a reliable funding source for colleges that experience enrollment spikes. Additional NCCCS priorities include capital funding for new construction and renovation and disaster relief, according to the presentation.
