NWACC Board Eyes Fees

Officials Discuss How To Balance Budget

BENTONVILLE — New student fees, along with increases of existing fees, might be used to help balance NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s budget in the next fiscal year.

Debi Buckley, interim senior vice president of administration and chief financial officer, gave the Board of Trustees an overview of budget development for fiscal year 2014 during a board work session Tuesday. The board took no action during the meeting.

Some variables pertinent to the budget, including how much money the college will receive from the state, have not been settled. Buckley’s budget picture assumed no change in funding levels from the state and no change in the tuition rate.

At A Glance

Student Fees

The NorthWest Arkansas Community College administration has proposed increasing some current fees and adding new ones.

Fee Current Rate Proposed Rate Estimated Additional Revenue (FY 2014)

Technology* $8.75 $10.75 $334,984

Facility Maintenance* $1.50 $2 $83,746

Distance Learning $40 $43 $132,912

Hybrid Learning $20 $22 $5,566

Science Lab $35 $50 $72,171

Culinary $100 $150 $13,000

Library Resource* n/a $1.50 $251,238

Health Professions* n/a $15 $199,590

Security* n/a $1 $167,492

*- per student semester credit hour

- per course

Source: NorthWest Arkansas Community College

The college, however, has committed to cutting about $2.5 million in expenditures, or 6.3 percent of its $40.8 million operating budget.

Most of those cuts have been identified, Buckley said, but the college still must find ways to trim another $621,439 in order to meet its goal.

“I’m very optimistic we’ll get there,” Buckley said.

Buckley also proposed three new student fees that could generate an estimated $618,320 next fiscal year.

Two of the fees — one for security and one for library resources — would apply to all students. The library resource fee would be $1.50 and the security fee would be $1 per student semester credit hour.

The security fee would add a 10th certified law enforcement officer to the college’s police force, said Ricky Tompkins, the college’s associate vice president for research and planning. It also would go toward projects such as the replacement of some campus security cameras.

Another new fee of $15 per credit hour would be charged to students enrolled in health professions under Buckley’s proposal. That would help cover the cost of two more patient simulators in the Center for Health Professions that together would cost about $100,000, Buckley said. The fee also would cover the cost of a technology employee to maintain the patient simulators in the building.

An additional $642,379 could be raised by increasing six fees students now pay. A $2 increase in students’ technology fee, for example — from $8.75 to $10.75 — would generate an additional $334,984, Buckley said.

Gov. Mike Beebe has proposed adding $534,000 to the college’s base funding level from the state. The Legislature, however, could nix that proposal and even reduce funding to state colleges and universities if millions of dollars in proposed tax cuts are approved.

"I'm very optimistic we'll get there."

Debi Buckley

Interim Senior Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer

The college would lose about $295,000 in state funding if a proposed $100 million tax cut is approved, Buckley said.

In that case, the college could still consider several options for balancing its budget, including increasing tuition, capping enrollment, reducing the number of class sections offered and reducing services at branch centers.

It’s unclear when the state funding issue will be settled. This year’s legislative session is set to end April 19. The board’s next meeting is April 8.

Among those in attendance at Tuesday’s board meeting was Evelyn Jorgenson, who will take over as college president in July following the retirement of Becky Paneitz. Jorgenson was visiting from Moberly, Mo., where she is president of Moberly Area Community College.

"It was all very informative."

Evelyn Jorgenson

Next College President

“It was all very informative,” Jorgenson said about the meeting.

In fiscal 2012 the college spent $1.4 million more than the $39,159,691 in revenue it brought in, according to state figures. The college began fiscal 2013 with $5.8 million in its fund balance.

Ric Clifford, college board chairman, said he likes the work that has been done so far on the 2014 budget.

“It’s a very conservative budget,” Clifford said.

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