Revenue still down, Columbus State says

Columbus State Community College is losing fewer students, but that isn’t helping the school’s bottom line.

College officials blamed two years of decreasing enrollment on a switch from quarters to semesters. Although that decline has slowed, students are taking fewer courses under the semester system. That translates to a projected loss of revenue equal to a 3 percent drop in enrollment, officials told the board of trustees yesterday.

A 2.5 percent tuition increase already approved to start this fall will offset much of that decline. But it means that for the third year in a row, college revenue is expected to

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shrink, this time by about 0.5 percent, or $500,000.

The trustees are to vote on the proposed budget next week.

“We are going to have to make some challenging decisions,” said Terri Gehr, senior vice president and chief financial officer, adding that the college has saved money by leaving job vacancies open and cutting other costs.

News wasn’t all bad yesterday, though.

The pinch is much lighter than it was last year, when the college had to reduce its budget by $17 million. Even with less money, President David Harrison said the school will be able to invest in important programs for students.

And it could have been much worse: Under the two-year state budget, Columbus State received $3 million for technology maintenance and upgrades that otherwise would have come out of the operating budget.

That one-time payment from the state postponed a technology fee that Columbus State would have had to charge students, as many other schools do.

“We want to maintain affordability,” Gehr told the board.

At the meeting yesterday, Harrison also presented a plan to push more students toward degrees and certificates, which could also boost the school budget.

The Ohio Board of Regents is requiring all colleges to submit “completion plans,” to improve the state’s share of adults with bachelor’s degrees. Ohio now ranks No. 38 in the country with 26 percent. At the same time, colleges are to receive state money based in part on their number of graduates.

At Columbus State, the plan includes a revamped advising office, with some advisers leaving the centralized office to help students in certain careers. And a new mandatory orientation for first-year students, which is to start this summer, will double as an early advising session, Harrison said.

“We’re trying to make advising unavoidable,” he said. “It should lead to greater student success.”

The college also plans to work more closely with high schools and local companies to recruit new students, even if they start at Columbus State but plan to transfer elsewhere, Harrison said.

“The community college pathway really can lead to a successful start.”