Pratt Community College Board of Trustees: Looking at different revenue sources

College Board Announces Big Changes in SAT Exam
Funding continues to dominate the future plans for educational institutions in Kansas. Funding was a prominent topic at the Pratt Community College Board of Trustees meeting July 18 at the college. With the future of state funding uncertain, the college is looking at different revenue sources, said PCC President Michael Calvert. Reduced state funding, reduced valuations, small levy increases all impact what the college can expect from various resources. The governor has approved a four percent cutback for all community colleges that will go through fiscal year 2017. If the state continues to have revenue short falls, additional cuts could be coming from Topeka. Since there is little to indicate that revenue will increase, the college has to be prepared to deal with serious financial decisions. "It will not be shocking at all if they (the state) takes additional dollars from higher education," Calvert said. And its not just higher education that is feeling the revenue pinch. It"s happening to all education levels and other areas like health, transportation and other state departments. "A lot of folks are in some real challenging times," Calvert said. We"ll make it work. There"s just so much unknown." While the college looks to possible revenue sources, they continue to remember they have a responsibility to the taxpayers to be prudent with their tax dollars. "Taxpayers provide a base and we"re grateful for that," Calvert said. One resource the college is tapping into is the non-traditional student who is already working but wanting to complete an associates degree without having to deal with college algebra. The Click2Connect program is a new outreach of the college that is aimed at the student that won"t live on campus and is not involved with sports or on-campus activities. The program has flexible options and is available online through EDUKAN and is in partnership with Fort Hays State University that offers a bachelor"s degree that also doesn"t require college algebra, Calvert said. The college is using a wide variety of media including TV, radio, print, and social media to reach the potential students. With the combined efforts of the staff and faculty at PCC, the hope is to bring in some fall enrollment outside of the service area in addition to high school numbers. With the start of classes about a month away, the enrollment numbers continue to look good. Enrollment is up nine percent over the same time last year and residence hall capacity is about 85 percent. Those numbers tend to fluctuate but for now, the college is ahead of where it was last year and the outlook is good for 2016-2017. Trustee officer elections were conducted as part of the new fiscal year requirements. Trustees voted to retain Mike Koler as chair and Jeff Shumway as vice chair. Other trustees are Dwane DeWeese, Michele Hamm, Stan Reimer, Darrell Shumway and Ken Van Blaricum. Page 2 of 2 - The Board and administration took some time to reflect on the unexpected death of ag instructor and friend Bill "Doc" Hunter on July 15. Hunter, who taught at PCC for 23 years, left some big shoes to fill. "The college and community has lost a dear friend. What a treasure we had in Doc," Calvert said. "He"ll be terribly missed." @GaleR_Tribune

Source: http://www.pratttribune.com/news/20160721/pratt-community-college-board-of-trustees-looking-at-different-revenue-sources