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Enrollment, revenues and student retention all are up compared to this point last year at Washington State Community College, the board of trustees was told Monday afternoon at its regular monthly meeting.
Vice president of finance Jess Raines told the board in his report that revenue from tuition and fees was up "about $100,000" in the first seven months of the fiscal year compared to the same point last year. "That's because student enrollment is up, and our state appropriation is up about 5.4 percent in part because of an increase in student success," Raines said. "We're at $8.8 million in revenue, $6.83 million in expenses, in good shape there, very nice positions in cash and investments, and I'm very, very pleased with enrollment."
President Vicky Wood in her update for the board also touched on enrollment, reporting 1,930 students in the spring semester, an increase of 11 percent over the same time last year, and an 8 percent increase in credit hour charges.
In another positive development, Wood reported that the financial aid default rate had fallen from 20.8 percent to 15.4 percent. "We're using a dashboard to monitor this and trying to get students the support they need before they default," Wood said.
In further assistance to students, the college secured two grants from the Marietta Welfare League, one for $2,000 for food pantry supplies and another for $2,500 to help nursing students.
"Many of our students suffer from food insecurity, and some of our first-generation nursing students can't afford supplies such as their textbooks," she said.
An additional service for the students, faculty and staff will begin soon, she said. The college has hired a mental health therapist to serve the campus. Junia Richemond, a licensed social worker and registereed therapist, will be available for appointments or walk-ins from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the Center for Student Success, starting within weeks.
In other matters, the board:
¯ Approved simplified and clarified policy language regarding student probation
¯ Was informed that temporary workers had been hired to digitize a mass of stored records, an effort expected to create additional space in the main building that potentially could be used for expansion of the health technician programs.
The board is scheduled to meet next at 4 p.m. April 13.