Big Bend president offers 'State of the College'

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College President Bill Bonaudi painted a mixed view of the college's future during the school's annual State of the College address.

In the address Bonaudi discussed the financial challenges facing the college and described strategies for dealing with them. He also celebrated the achievements of the college students.

The college was able to handle approximately the same number of students this year as last year with fewer staff positions and reduced funding, Bonaudi said. He added that the college exceeded its enrollment target by more than six percent.

"It's pretty easy to jump to the conclusion that we really didn't need the funds we were getting before the economic recession hit us," he said.

Bonaudi said as a result of the fund reduction, the college used more part-time instructors, faculty accepted more students in their classes where possible and the college ran fewer small classes. The staff absorbed the workload of the ones who resigned or retired, "often performing two jobs or working lots of uncompensated additional hours," he said.

The college did not lay off any employees this year, Bonaudi said, but did give up unfilled positions.

"Even with a tuition increase of 15 percent over the last biennium, there was not enough revenue to offset that lost portion of our state funding," he said.

"As of tonight we are awaiting a budget from our legislature that will represent at least an additional loss to us of more than a million dollars the first year of the biennium and perhaps as much as another $800,000 the second year of the biennium," Bonaudi said.

Tuition will rise from 15 percent over the last biennium to almost 23 percent over the next biennium, he said.

"Barring any additional cuts to our budget, we will have lost in four years almost $5 million and at least 16 full time positions," he said. "We are an essential service of government and deserving therefore of government funded support ... To support Big Bend Community College in these very difficult times, we need the courage to maybe divert existing funding from some other state service or maybe generate a new revenue stream to pay for this essential service."

The legislature is now deciding to generate new revenue by increasing the amount paid by students and reducing the amount paid by taxpayers, he said.

"If we don't find a way to secure some guaranteed floor of funding for our higher education system we will continue to bleed away the life and substance of our colleges," he said.

The college has found ways to adapt to some of its fiscal woes, Bonaudi said.

"Remarkably, we've always found ways to open new programs to meet community needs, even in these financially uneven times," he said.

The school's MIST program, which trains students to use center pivot irrigation equipment, exists because of industry support rather than state subsidy, he said. The school contracted with a local farmer to use the necessary equipment. The Washington State Potato Commission offered scholarship support for the program.

The college is also collaborating with SGL Automotive Group to provide initial employment training for their new carbon fiber plant, he said.

BBCC has also utilized Title V grant money to support some if its functions.

Bonaudi said the college had invested state money in a major revision of its computer science curriculum. Because of the budget crunch, the college had the new curriculum but no funds for hiring instructors or purchasing equipment.

"In our application for the grant, among other things, we requested funding support to complete the development of the new computer science program and a staff member to start the program in 2012," he said.

BBCC is currently benefitting from two Title V grants, Bonaudi said; a cooperative grant in partnership with Heritage University and an institutional grant. The cooperative grant will be used to improve student retention and success in pre-college math and to enhance counseling and advising support for students transferring to a baccalaureate program from BBCC.

The institutional grant focuses on developing more distance learning capabilities.

"Clearly the theme here is to pursue grant funding to sustain some college activity and to expand into new programs and skills for which we lack state funds," said Bonaudi. "This is a worthy activity when properly funded; it's a vital activity during this economic crisis."

Almost $300,000 of the college's Title V grant is an endowment set aside to be matched by the BBCC Foundation over the five year life of the grant, Bonaudi said.

"If that match is made, all $600,000 will become an endowment in the foundation for use as we see fit," he said.

Bonaudi also expressed concern over the increasing levels of debt taken on by BBCC students.

"Unless we secure more tuition assistance money I fear an unmanageable growth in student loan debt," he said.

BBCC Vice President of Instruction & Student Services Bob Mohrbacher said he wasn't surprised by the content of Bonaudi's address.

"Even with all the bad news about budget cuts, there's still a lot of student success stories," Mohrbacher said.

One success story Bonaudi related was of a Quincy High School student that didn't know how she was going to pay for her college education. BBCC Trustee Mike Blakely encouraged her to apply for a BBCC Foundation scholarship. She was awarded a scholarship that paid for her first year at BBCC. She will graduate from BBCC this June and has been accepted to Washington State University.

A recording of the entire address can be viewed online at www.bigbend.edu. From the rotating link selection on the home page, click the Mediasite link, then click on the State of the College folder. Past addresses dating back to 2008 are also available.