Prepared Remarks by Lyndon State College President Joe Bertolino to the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Tuition Panel January 28, 2015

Transcription

1 Prepared Remarks by Lyndon State College President Joe Bertolino to the Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Tuition Panel January 28, The topic of this panel is tuition. I would like to take the time allotted to me to talk about tuition in the context of the larger ecosystem of our colleges: enrollment, competition, affordability, expense management, and success strategies. It is in the intersection of the environmental drivers such as enrollment, the impact of prices on our students, and in the management of academic and other expenses, that tuition rates become a pivotal decision. 2. Let s start with enrollment. We have seen a decline in enrollment at LSC and we are not alone not alone in the VSC system, the state of Vermont, the northeast, or the nation. Save for the west and sections of the south, we have declining numbers of traditional college-age students nationally. Far more colleges than not are facing enrollment challenges. a. For most of our Vermont colleges, the problem is exacerbated by a further decline in rural populations. Urban colleges are growing or flat while most of the reduction is occurring at rural institutions. b. Recently I was invited to participate in an AASCU meeting in Washington, D.C. Forty college presidents gathered together to discuss declining enrollment and our responses (more on that later): I say this now to reiterate, We are not alone. c. It is important to understand that this is a common experience for two reasons: i. First, so that we don t look for isolated factors affecting the VSC. That would be a waste of time and effort. ii. Second, so that our planning takes into account the fact that nationally colleges and universities are trying to do just what we are trying to do innovate program delivery, find new efficiencies, expand revenue streams, and cut costs. With everyone moving to the top of their game, we, in the VSC must do it even better. 3. Setting tuition rates is one of the most important decisions that a board makes each year. In that context, I think it is important to recognize that we the colleges and you, our trustees have a shared goal. a. To provide an excellent educational experience for Vermont students and support the economy and civic life of the communities in which our campuses and programs reside. b. To provide an excellent educational experience for ALL of our students. We are Vermont State institutions, but as colleges, we serve students from across our region and even across the country. i. Importantly, each of the VSC colleges serves a slightly different population. The Lyndon demographic is different from CCV, Castleton, etc. ii. And even within the Vermont student population there are important subgroups found in different measure on different campuses for example Veterans or first in family. iii. Why is this important? Because we need at both the Board and campus level, a deep understanding of the entire array of students and how best to engage them

2 in learning and living communities on our campuses. Our expense and revenue decisions are driven by that understanding. c. Let me be more blunt, and perhaps this is tad risky. Yes, we are in some measure tax funded and, yes, we serve tax payers. But all colleges serve tax payers of one form or another and I would put forward the idea that the primary fiduciary responsibility of the Board is the wise creation and use of VSC resources for all the students we serve. And that s subtly, but importantly, different from a primary focus on Vermont students and the stewardship of funds from Vermont tax payers. d. Lastly, what is excellence? i. Relevant, powerful, experiential programs ii. Accessibility iii. Attainability (designed for student success and graduation) 4. We find ourselves at a financial crossroads. a. Declining enrollment and either deficits (four campuses) or substantial proactive reductions (CCV) have led to a system-wide financial crisis. b. Our colleges here, and really throughout the higher education industry, were built on a paradigm of growth. This paradigm is no longer applicable. i. Infrastructure of program, people, services, and facilities now often exceed enrollment. 1. For example, at Lyndon, old strategic plans suggest that the campus is structured for an enrollment of between 1,600 and 1,800. Our current enrollment is more in the 1,300 to 1,400 range. 2. Academically, while we have approximately the same number of students that we had a few years ago, we are offering far more courses than ever before a curriculum sized for a larger student population. ii. The chances of our being able to grow our way to balance, at least in our traditional fishing pools for students, is slim to none. iii. That means that we need a new paradigm for structuring and funding our operations. c. A decision made in February to freeze tuition for the following fall will have little to no impact on recruitment. i. To make the most of the potential recruiting benefit of a flat tuition, we would need time to market it thoroughly. The population to which it appeals in recruiting is generally a more affluent population and this group is generally earlier in the cycle than March ii. To make the most of it from a retention standpoint, we would want to start using it in our financial aid and related communications that start in January. d. Tuition is the largest source of operating revenue at each of the VSC colleges. Period. We ve all heard these statistics, but let me remind you:

3 % of Operating Expenses Funded by Net State Tuition Appropriation CCV 80% 16% CSC 60% 10% JSC 59% 16% LSC 59% 15% VTC 56% 18% e. A flat tuition, in order to be viable against rising costs, presumes either funding from another source, and/or major cost reduction, and/or increased volume. However: i. We do not expect increased funding from the state. ii. We are already reeling from last fall s decline in enrollment (and engaging in major cost reduction activities). A decline that has been system wide, though at slightly different times. To some extent, as a system, we planned for it. But in the aggregate we have underlying deficits funded, when they are funded, by one-time sources of funds. Flat tuition will exacerbate the problem. iii. The demographics of Vermont, and indeed, most of the northeast, do not support a growth model for enrollment. f. If the Board were to choose a flat tuition rate, my recommendation would be to consider a modest increase for the coming year and a flat rate for the following as part of a two year plan. 5. The other side of tuition growth is the financial impact on students and their families. The VSC is not immune from the crisis of access and affordability that is pandemic across higher education. a. Almost all Lyndon students participate in one or more financial aid programs while at college. i. Last year, 84% of our students had federal grants and/or loans. ii. 69% of them had grants and/or work study from the college. b. While grants are generally for fixed amounts, loan caps (federal) do increase from freshman to sophomore year and sophomore to junior year. The amount of that cumulative increase $2,000 exceeds the increase in tuition, room, and board over a four-year period (assuming a 3% increase annually). So out of pocket costs should be relatively stable. c. However, for many students the amount of aid they receive falls short of their real need. There is a gap between what the family can afford (standard federal measure) and their out-of-pocket costs. So while the amount of the gap may be relatively stable over time, the financial weight of that gap grows. i. Let me give you an example. My godson applied to LSC. He was accepted. His family has an ability to pay (standard federal measure) almost nothing. They are low income. Even after receiving grants and loans from the government and Lyndon, my godson would have had a gap of more than $10,000. So in year one, when the family can afford to pay almost nothing, they would have to pay $10,000+. In year two, tuition and fees go up, but they can borrow more money

4 So the gap is again around $10,000+. The family has now invested $20,000 that they don t have, in their child s education. You can see how that accumulates over the four years. Well, needless to say, he didn t come to Lyndon. ii. So in many ways, one could say that it isn t the tuition increase that is so painful, but rather the unrelieved gap that accumulates year after year after year. d. And then there is the question of loan burdens. Some have said that a looming student loan crisis will, upon fruition, dwarf the impact of the mortgage loan crisis. Whether or not this is true, student debt has risen sharply and is cause for concern. Some of my colleagues have/will speak to some of these loan specifics. However, one thing is true our students, and for that matter, students nationally, do NOT graduate in four years, and as a result, incur more debt. Furthermore, post-graduation earnings have not kept pace with student loan debt, making the debt more difficult to pay. 6. So where is LSC financially and what are we doing? a. We put together a very conservative financial scenario for next year and tasked ourselves with finding a way to operate within it. We have a structural deficit caused by the decline in enrollment we experienced this fall. This is a problem that will last for several years even if enrollment rebounds. But we can t plan for a rebound. We need to take (in fact, have spent all fall taking) a sober look at our infrastructure programs, people, and space and reshape the institution for the students we now serve. We can t do much about space, but we can work on the other two. b. If we assume no tuition increase, no increase in state appropriation, average retention, and essentially flat recruiting, we will have a $3.1 million deficit. c. We will lay off staff, we will not hire many of our current part-time faculty and cut back on overloads. We will decrease the number of courses offered and decrease some services to students. It s not all dire in some areas we will capitalize on recent increases in efficiency to make the changes. But that is the exception rather than the rule. d. We have engaged in a 10% exercise what would the College look like if it were 10% smaller. In this exercise we have made opportunistic use of resignations, retirements, and other vacancies, but still we have to plan for layoffs. It is important to note that the impact must be uneven across the campus because we need to invest in certain areas, necessitating cutting more in others. We aren t completely there yet, and the impact of the cuts we will need to make on our programs, student retention, and surrounding community worry us deeply. e. We also have an upside model that assumes a small tuition increase. Does it alleviate the $3.1 million? No. Does it mitigate it? Yes. We still must make substantial budget reductions in this and future years. Without a tuition increase, the situation would be worse and cumulatively, over time, it would be harder and harder to manage a quality educational experience for our students. 7. What will make us (LSC and the VSC) successful? While I m not privy to the innermost strategies of each of my sibling schools, I would suggest that each institution have a particular niche or niche programs that serve our students well. Playing off of each other s strengths would certainly strengthen the VSC s position

5 a. I mentioned that I attended an AASCU meeting in D.C. Collectively the college presidents concluded that experiential learning was the sweet spot at the intersection of a college education and career readiness. Collectively, we already do this! b. We need to be five interconnected colleges. This is a different philosophy and rhetoric from five independent colleges, or even five strong colleges. I think we need to examine interconnectedness in academic programs as well as administrative services. 8. We need more revenue. We need to reconfigure and reduce our expenses. Both are true. Together, not separately, they are the answer. a. We have a responsibility to cover responsible expenses we need revenues that match the legitimate cost of education delivery. b. It is the Board s fiduciary responsibility to help us obtain the revenue that we need to serve our students (YOUR students). c. We can t cut our way out and we can t grow our way out. d. A tuition increase will not solve the deficits driven by declining enrollment and rising costs. But it will buffer the institutions and our students from even greater cuts to programs and services. e. Roughly 60% of our expenses are growing at the rate of 3-5% annually (people costs) and 60% of our revenue (tuition) is challenged by declining enrollment. This is NOT sustainable! f. I am mindful that college is an enormous sacrifice and investment for families. We have an enormous responsibility to use the dollars we procure as best as we possibly can to provide a quality education. If we cannot afford to deliver a quality product, then we are not meeting our obligations. g. I would argue that preserving modest growth in the revenue stream through rate increases should be part of the answer to the question of how to continue to provide even improve on the delivery of quality educational experience to our students