Three Rivers expecting strong enrollment to continue

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Three Rivers College expects to see strong enrollment for the fourth straight year, according to a projected balanced budget presented to the board of trustees Monday during a workshop at Sam A. Baker State Park.

The approximately $22.9 million budget for Fiscal Year 2013 bases revenue projections in large part on enrollment figures from this year's two record-setting semesters. Tuition and fees equal about half the college's annual revenue.

Trustees are expected to vote on the budget at their next monthly meeting June 27.

"Even though this budget is not as conservative as it has been, it is necessary to meet the needs of the region," said president Dr. Devin Stephenson, adding later, "There's more growth to be realized. Our services will continue to expand."

Enrollment has increased 41 percent in the past three years, he continued. Applications and acceptance for the fall show an increase of 25 percent over this time last year at both the Poplar Bluff campus and off-campus sites, according to an early assessment from the student success division, Stephenson reported.

Trustee Darren Garrison questioned the wisdom of using the college's best performing years for the budget, rather than a three or five year average for the budget projections.

"What we have tried to do is create a budget the most realistically," chief financial officer Charlotte Eubank said. "I think it gives us a target to strive for. It is less conservative than in past years, which means we need to be more conservative on the expense side."

An average, given the college's growth, would make budgeting very difficult, Stephenson said later.

"The lowest two years would skew it too much. We couldn't build a budget," he said. "An average would not provide us the funds to serve this increased enrollment in my opinion."

Enrollment reached a record more than 4,300 students in the spring and the higher headcount does put stress on the college, Stephenson said. This requires the college to ask who needs to be on the front line meeting students, how much personnel is needed and how long each individual contact needs to last, he said.

Some areas which could see significant changes are the call center, a component that uses intrusive advising to increase retention. This may become a separate entity, Stephenson said. Students who are frequently absent or failing are referred to the call center by instructors. Staff then contacts the student to learn what is causing the problem and offer resources.

"A lot of times when students fail, it is not because of the rigor of the class, it's because of life," said Marcia Fields, director of student services.

About 60 percent of students contacted in the fall were progressing or had withdrawn from classes, Fields said. In the past, students were sent a letter if an instructor referred them for additional services.

Trustees said even if students have the withdrawal on their transcript, they are more likely to return than if it were a failing grade.

"I felt like a lot of kids were falling through the cracks because nobody gave them a push," said Trustee Phil Davis.

The college will also have to consider how to staff the Academic Resource Commons at the Rutland Library building, Stephenson said. Also focused on retention, the ARC is expected to become a hub when renovations are finished. It is possible more tutors and more development instruction, focusing on areas in which students are weak, will be needed.

Tutoring was expanded this year to all off-campus sites.

A lot of Three Rivers' growth has been seen at its off-campus sites and adjunct personnel works well in those environments, Stephenson said, but more fulltime personnel at the Sikeston campus is another possible need. A new campus is planned for that site and administrators expect to see tremendous growth there.

"I think a lot of our growth has to do with our taking services to where there is a need," said Stephenson.

Tuition and fees are calculated using the recent tuition increase, Eubank said. It also includes summer student figures from 2009, which, because of recent changes to financial aid, most closely reflect what administrators expect to see in FY13.

The budget projects a 4 percent withholding in state allocations, or about $166,000. This is because the state budget assumes it will have $35 million more in lottery funds than what the lottery commission projected, Eubank said.

Also among the division priorities for student success are to encourage student leadership and involvement. Students who are active in college organizations are more likely to be engaged and do well, said Fields.

Financial services will continue to work to make sure contracts are competitively negotiated and assess actions to make sure they are effective, said Eubank. For instance, emailing statements to students helped reduce paper usage. However, the department realized those students who stopped attending also stopped checking their campus email and needed to return to paper notices. Reducing paper usage is a cost reduction effort.

Planning priorities for the learning division include not only adding technology, but making sure that technology is used appropriately, said Dr. Wes Payne, vice president of learning.

"Traditionally, higher education has had a bad habit of purchasing a lot of technology, putting it in a classroom and saying, there you go," he said. "We're looking at what technology has the most impact, both for faculty members and from the student side."

Trustees also discussed: creating a contingency fund separate from the emergency fund to be used, for instance, to make up budget shortfalls instead of increasing tuition; providing employees with a gym membership as part of the requirements to receive the full college paid $1,000 health insurance deductible; accepted a bid from Kraft, Miles and Tatum for audit services; and received qualifications for companies to provide architectural/engineering services and project manager services.

Chairman Randy Winston discussed the board's need to remain united even when opinions differ. The discussion followed split votes regarding tuition increases and pay for head coaches.

"As a board, once we make decisions, I think it is important we all support the decision that has been made," Winston said. "We can disagree and that's fine, but it's not personal."

Trustee Randy Grassham was absent.

Pertinent address:

Poplar Bluff, MO