Enrollment at NMC declines

A top college official said yesterday the Northern Marianas College may be able to reduce its tuition rates, as proposed by a legislator, provided the Legislature would appropriate budget for college operations.

Ramon Villagomez, chairman of NMC’s Board of Regents, reminded the Senate and House members that the college is only receiving legislative appropriations for personnel, while funds for operations are sourced from tuition paid by students who are receiving grants from the government’s Education Assistance Program or EAP.

Villagomez noted a big decrease in college enrollment as a result of the government’s new policy eliminating EAP assistance to part-time students, who account for 57 percent of the college student population.

NMC reported that this school year’s enrollment saw a decrease by 400 students.

Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, chairman of the House Committee of Health, Education and Welfare, last week urged NMC to reduce its tuition charges for local students, suggesting that the federal and local governments’ assistance should be enough to raise operations money.

Villagomez, however, argued that NMC is virtually dependent on government for its existence.

“The NMC is not a money making private institution. It does not depend on tuition for its entire expenses and has no goal of making some profits,” Villagomez said in a letter to Senate and House leaders.

“Instead, the legislature appropriates EAP money which is given to students to pay for tuition, which is then used by the college to pay for its operations expenses,” he added.

The tuition charged by the college, Villagomez said, cannot be a financial burden on students “as long as they receive EAP money.”

“In other words,” the board chairman added, “although taxpayers do not provide operations money through direct appropriation by the legislature, they do pay for college operations , indirectly, by providing students with EAP money to pay for tuition.”

Villagomez suggested that the government can only choose between two options to ensure funding for the college: either to grant EAP to all students or provide operations money through direct appropriation.

“The Board of Regents and the college administration can run the community college only to the extent that it is funded by the community,” Villagomez said. “If it’s funded at $4 million,” Villagomez said, “then it will be run as a $4-million college.”

The Board of Regents, however, “cannot run an $8-million college with only $4 million,” Villagomez pointed out.(MCM)