Student pockets will be missing money starting Summer Term

Responding to gloomy projections of a continued decline in student enrollment, the MHCC Board of Education has approved a $3 per credit hour tuition increase, taking effect this summer term.

The board vote on April 10 followed a special budget committee meeting on the projected MHCC budget for the 2014-15 school year. The tuition increase is intended to help offset a forecast 7 percent enrollment decline, said MHCC President Debbie Derr, who outlined additional cost-saving steps.

With board member Paul Capell acting as chairman, the budget committee heard unsettling news from Sergey Shepelov, MHCC systems analyst/programmer for computer services.

Shepelov presented enrollment projections, saying that Mt. Hood’s student population draws largely on people in their first 15 weeks of unemployment and from about 17 percent of new high school graduates from surrounding public school districts.

 

Chief Financial Officer Jennifer DeMent gave a detailed 2014-2015 budget overview, and said if Shepelov’s enrollment numbers are factored into the projected budget, then the estimated college deficit could make Mt. Hood not only unsustainable, but inoperable, without serious adjustments.

In order to return to healthy financial footing, Mt. Hood would have to get its funding support from the state back to 2007 to 2008 levels, DeMent said.

Derr presented the board with a formal president’s budget message and said she has faced similar “challenges” before.

“It is my experience that all budget developments present challenges. Even when there may appear to be adequate revenues, there are budget requests that cannot be provided for,” she said.

“We need to take a serious look at long-term: Where are we going; what is the missing vitality of our programs; and, I don’t mean just instructional programs, I mean programs in the sense of what we do, how we support our students,” said Derr about keeping enrolled students at MHCC until they graduate.

The budget committee scheduled a budget workshop meeting that will be open to the public for May 7. It will meet again to approve a formal 2014-2015 budget plan in the MHCC boardroom on May 14, prior to the next regular board meeting.

After the grim discussion April 10 about the uncertainty of Mt. Hood’s financial future, there was an ominous environment in the boardroom.

But Derr would lift everyone’s spirits when she presented Mt. Hood’s Outstanding Support Staff Awards to Worksource Specialist Sheila McQueen, Adult Basic Skills Administrative Assistant Cecelia Pelayo, and Transitions Program Assistant Jenny Ruelas.

Johnson Controls, the organization responsible for optimizing Mt. Hood’s infrastructure with improvements, such as the HVAC system, and the recently installed aluminum light posts, presented Mt. Hood with a ceremonial check of $409,000 from the Energy Trust of Oregon as a tax incentive MHCC earned for installing the HVAC system.

Soon after, the board would unanimously approve a $3 tuition increase per credit hour which will take effect this summer.

In her prepared budget message, Derr also said that “The instructional and academic support functions of the College have been reduced by 5 percent from the adopted FY13-14 budget. Reductions have come in part-time salaries, supplies and materials.

“The student development function of the budget is reduced by 6.5 percent from FY13-14. Reductions include full-time and part-time staff as well as travel, materials and supplies.

“The institutional support function of the College is reduced by 9 percent, including full-time and part-time positions, travel, supplies and materials,” she said.

In brighter news for MHCC students, the board voted to adopt fee schedule changes that include reductions in some areas.

Starting next fall, the Access Fee will not be required for any student taking only a single, one-credit course.

The new schedule also eliminates the $35 College Now fee and lowers the overdue fines for checking out videos to $0.25 from $1 “to increase circulation of new video collection,” according to the board agenda.

Normally, board meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of every month. The most recent meeting landed on a Thursday so that board members could attend the American Association of Community Colleges’ annual convention where speakers included U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

The next board meeting is scheduled for May 14 at 6 p.m.