WNCC 2010 Self-Study Report - Western Nebraska Community ...

and fees, and 8.6% classed as other (RR 47). A current disagreement about the way in which
state aid to community colleges is structured is causing a degree of turmoil.
State Aid and the Legislature
State aid to the community colleges changed last year as Nebraska lawmakers approved a new
funding formula for community colleges. The new formula equalizes funding through the local
effort rate (LER) and System Foundation Need funds. State aid, then, is based on a college area’s
needs minus its local resources to calculate the amount of state aid each college receives.
Two other factors influence the amount of state aid: growth and the district tax levy amount
allowed, called the local effort rate (LER). In effect, shortfalls in funding are allowed to be made
up by the authority for each college to set the tax levy rate up to a designated cap (although each
institution is allowed to go 20% above or below that figure, based upon fiscal need or
circumstances). This shifts more of the burden on local taxpayers, which can create resistance.
Institutional enrollment growth factors into the calculation so that besides a base allocation a part of
the total allocation is calculated based upon a growth factor, which serves as an incentive for
colleges to actively seek growth and areas of service. The formula addresses fluctuating
enrollments at the colleges by using a three-year average to determine enrollment funding for each
institution. Using an average enrollment number gives the aid distribution stability and reduces the
dramatic effects on funding from year to year because of institutional enrollment highs and lows.
WNCC’s traditional credit hour FTE grew 12.3% from 2006-07 to 2007-08. Forty-two percent of the
growth came from on-campus students, 12.9% from online students, and 38.9% from Business and
Individual training. The largest segment of growth came from on-campus enrollments at least
partially associated with the addition of the other athletic teams, the opening of Conestoga Hall,
and intensive recruiting efforts.
Challenges Presented by the State Funding Formula and Nebraska Internal Conflicts
External marketing and recruitment practices are sometimes questioned by WNCC’s area
taxpayers who claim that they may be subsidizing students from outside the defined service area
or even outside national boundaries. What may go unacknowledged is the need for identifying new
student pools from which to draw in order to maintain and grow student attendance in the case of a
rural school with a declining populace in the majority of its district.
One function of the Clarus Corporation study will be a marketing scan to assist the enrollment
management officers in looking at current markets and identifying new markets. Efforts are
underway to prepare documentation of the effectiveness of athletics in supporting institutional fiscal
health, in addition to the contribution international students make toward broadening the student
experience through increasing diversity in the student populace.
The new state-wide funding formula was also designed to shift from FTE to REU production, which
means that since REU’s are based upon course weighting, predictions for 2009-2010 show that
WNCC will receive less state aid. Academic transfer courses are rated at a 1 category, while “light
vocational” courses count as 1.5 in calculations.
Western Nebraska Community College Page 75