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Increase of part-time students not enough to offset possible faculty layoffs at Central Lakes College
Staff Writer Central Lakes College has experienced an 8.1 percent increase in the number of part-time students who attend the college, but overall the college has had a continued decline in full-time-equivalent students.
This factor, coupled with other budget-related uncertainties, is why CLC has issued layoff notices to 11 of its faculty members, CLC president Larry Lundblad said Tuesday.
Lundblad declined to name the affected instructors. But five positions are in management programs, three in career and technical education and three in the liberal arts division of the community and technical college in Brainerd and Staples.
The notices were issued ahead of the Nov. 1 contractual deadline with the faculty association. The layoffs, unless rescinded by improved enrollment and/or funding allocations during the next legislative session, are scheduled to take effect at the end of the current academic year.
"We don't have a firm figure that way," Lundblad said when asked how much enrollment would need to increase to rescind the layoff notices. "It's really up in the air right now."
Lundblad said some of the layoffs are tied to individual programs. If enrollment increases in those specific programs for next fall then the instructors will not be laid off. Some positions may involve reducing an instructor's position from a full-time to part-time status. This may mean that some faculty members will be offered their jobs back on a reduced contract next fall. He said CLC is marketing its programs in an attempt to increase enrollment.
CLC has 2,900 students enrolled in credit-based courses this fall. But the number of full-time-equivalent students has dropped by .9 percent. A full-time-equivalent student is one who took 30 semester credits during the school year. Last year CLC had 2,347 full-time-equivalent students, a slight decrease from the 2004-05 school year when enrollment was at 2,363 students. Enrollment was 2,478 for the 2003-04 school year, another decrease from the 2002-03 school year when CLC had 2,571 students.
Forty percent of the college's revenues come from student tuition. The rest is state funded.
Lundblad said the college is now in a strategic planning process, looking at demographic data and reviewing needs the community may have in terms of higher education. Lundblad said in order for the college to add any programs it means shifting funds since CLC doesn't receive any new funding for new programs.
Lundblad speculates that the increase in part-time students may be attributed to recent increases in tuition. Many students are choosing to attend CLC on a part-time basis so they may work more hours. An increase in part-time students also creates the need for additional student resources to accommodate these students, such as counseling, career planning, financial aid and other services, he said.
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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