Study: NMC funding per student decreasing

A peer comparison study conducted by the Northern Marianas College show that funding allocation for every student in the only community college on island has been substantially decreasing compared to the amount being spent by many other states and peer institutions on their students.

NMC president Sharon Y. Hart and Office of Institutional Effectiveness director Galvin Deleon Guerrero disclosed these findings to the Board of Regents on Tuesday, emphasizing the impact this limited funding has in complying with accreditation requirements and standards.

At the state level, NMC’s per student allocation of $6,877 in fiscal year 2007 was significantly lower than the $7,195 per student allocation among members of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

NMC’s per student allocation briefly went up to $7,835 in fiscal year 2008 before seesawing back to $6,124 in fiscal year 2009 and dropping further to $4,259 per student in fiscal year 2010.

On average, WICHE’s per student allocation in fiscal year 2010 was $5,777, while average funding for U.S. states was $6,454.

Among peer institutions-schools and colleges in the Western Pacific-NMC’s budget per student is $6,124, below the average per student allocation of $8,462.

Deleon Guerrero disclosed that Guam’s funding per student is $11,971 while Nevada’s is $8,190. In New Mexico, the allocation per student is $10,211.

Among peer institutions, NMC only surpassed Florida, which has a per-student funding of $5,815.

NMC’s student allocation is significantly lower than Guam Community College, which has a $13,328 budget per student; Great Basin College in Nevada with $9,054 per student; and Northern New Mexico College, with $9,871 per student. The average state local funding per student in these institutions is $8,862.

Although funding cuts are evident in almost all states and institutions, Deleon Guerrero said that NMC is experiencing substantial decreases in the amount it allocates its students despite the increasing number of students every year.

In fiscal year 2011, NMC was allocated only $4.2 million by the local government, significantly lower than the $5.6 million and $5.5 million it got in 2010 and 2009. In fiscal year 2008, the college only got $4.9 million, a huge drop from the $6.5 million it got in fiscal year 2007.

Hart described the per-student allocation at NMC as “very underfunded” and a “red flag.” She said the college’s financial standing will have a grave impact on the “sustainability” goals for the institution.

Success rates

Based on the quality effectiveness report presented by Deleon Guerrero, NMC has had numerous success rates in many areas. The data were collected and tracked pursuant to the college’s new policy on monitoring effectives.

There are 16 core indicators used to measure the effectiveness of the college’s programs and services. These indicators were adopted from the American Association of Community Colleges.

Data presented to the board indicated that NMC has a good graduation rates in the past several years. The following are NMC’s graduation rates: 2004-2005 (14 percent); 2005-2006 (20 percent); 2006-2007 (24 percent); 2007-2008 (9 percent); and 2008-2009 (16 percent). The graduation rate is determined when students complete a course within four years.

Compared to peers and the national graduation rates average of 15 percent, Deleon Guerrero said that NMC’s average graduation rate of between 15 and 25 percent is “good numbers.”

In terms of transfer rates, or students moving out from NMC, the transfer rate for liberal arts was 58 percent in 2005-2006; 62 percent in 2006-2007; 50 percent in 2007-2008; 68 percent in 2008-2009; and 63 percent in 2009-2010.

For the business degree, the transfer rates are as follows: 2006-2007 (50 percent); 2008-2009 (33 percent); 2009-2010 (33 percent).

“We have to remember that not all of them [transfers] go on to four-year college, some of them enter the workforce. So anything about 40 percent for transfer rate is really a good number. So our liberal arts is doing very well,” said Deleon Guerrero.

NMC also has a successful licensure pass rates for both NCLEX and Praxis tests.

In 2005-2006, the college posted 92 percent passing rate for NCLEX and 100 percent passed the Praxis that same year.

In 2006-2007, NCLEX remained on top with 88 percent passing rate and 60 percent for Praxis; in 2007-2008, the NCLEX passing rate was 90 percent while that of Praxis was at 63 percent. In 2008-2009, the NCLEX passing rate was 55 percent while that of Praxis was at 67 percent. In 2009-2010, 75 percent passed the NCLEX.

As for its job placement rates, Deleon Guerrero said the data shows that for every four graduates at the NMC, three of them get jobs, mostly in their fields or related courses.