Enrollment exceeds state support at all Washington's public colleges

Community colleges and public universities in the state faced the worst over-enrollment problem ever in the most recent academic year, according to several enrollment reports.

The past school year marked the first time all the public universities and community-college districts in Washington took in more students than the state had funded, leaving many universities with larger classes, crowded dorm rooms and longer waiting lists.

Many college administrators predict the problem will occur again this school year because state funds have not kept up with student population growth.

There had been projections some colleges would be over- enrolled, but the recent data provide the broadest look and show the problem is worse than some administrators had predicted. State lawmakers and Gov. Gary Locke's staff are expected to get the enrollment figures next week.

The state Office of Financial Management reports that universities took in about 87,970 full-time-equivalent students (FTEs), about 3,450 more FTEs than the state funded.

The state pays for enrollment for a maximum number of full-time in-state students, or FTEs. Two part-time students count as one FTE.

The state Board for Community College and Technical Colleges reports that its 34 colleges took in a record 133,095 FTEs, about 9,400 more than the state funded.

"We are seeing a very significant increase in over-enrollment, and it's creating a crisis in higher education," said Marcus Gaspard, executive director of the Higher Education Coordinating Board.

"When the over-enrollment numbers get to the point where they are at now, the universities and colleges are stretching their budgets so thin that they are having a hard time accommodating the demands."

At a time of record over-enrollment, the recent $65 million state cut in higher education was devastating, Gaspard said.

In recent years, the over-enrollment occurred in schools in Western Washington, but that spread throughout the state last year. Eastern Washington University reported 8,421 FTEs, nearly 500 more than the state funded. As a result, the Cheney school likely will admit fewer freshmen next year and reduce financial aid.

In the past, universities could admit more students than the state funded because the colleges used funding sources such as scholarships or foundation money to make up the difference.

With a down economy, those other sources aren't enough, especially with the "baby-boom echo" that resulted in a record number of college students, several college-enrollment managers said.

And it will only get worse. The Office of Financial Management projects there will be a record 526,569 young adults age 17 to 22 next year and the number will rise to more than 567,250 by 2011. A higher percentage of them are going to college than in the past, many demographers said.

Also, fewer college students are dropping out and many dropouts are returning because of the staggering economy.

All those factors have played havoc for enrollment officers who must project enrollment in advance. Colleges always accept more students than they can take because many usually decline the offer. But the high rate of acceptance surprised every college in the state last year.

These factors were evident at the University of Washington.

The state's flagship university had 5,400 freshmen this past school year, about 300 more than anticipated. The UW added 160 beds to already crowded dormitories and were still left with a record waiting list of 350 students at one point. Classes were bigger and more students complained of not getting needed courses. But UW officials said they couldn't add more class sections because of a lack of state funding.

The UW had 33,863 FTEs, about 1,540 FTEs more than the state funding level.

The problem will continue this school year, even though the UW admitted 500 fewer freshmen for fall of this year.

In Bellingham, Western Washington University has moved its human-resources department and other nonacademic programs off campus to free classroom space. WWU had 11,265 FTEs, nearly 300 more than the state funded.

Compounding the problem is that most private colleges, including Seattle University and the University of Puget Sound, are keeping enrollment low to keep their student-to-teacher ratio low.

As a result, community colleges are getting more students partly because universities can't take them all, according to several college administrators, high-school counselors and enrollment specialists.

"This is the first time we can remember that every (community college) district has been over-enrolled," said Lorna Sutton, spokeswoman for the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

Community colleges also report they are seeing more laid-off workers enrolling.

The Seattle district, which includes the Seattle Vocational Institute and Seattle Central, North Seattle and South Seattle community colleges, had about 13,730 FTEs, about 450 more than the state funded.

With lax admissions criteria, many community-college administrators are nervous their campuses will be overwhelmed next year.

"You can only do that so far before you jeopardize the quality of your program," said Earl Hale, executive director of the Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

Community colleges handle the over-enrollment problem partly by hiring more part-time faculty members. The three most overpopulated community colleges had the highest percentage of part-time instructors. Part-time instructors make up 65 percent of the staff at Whatcom Community College, 60 percent at Cascadia Community College and 54 percent at Bellevue Community College. Whatcom is over-enrolled by 27 percent, Cascadia by 34 percent and Bellevue by 19 percent.

Because part-time instructors' salaries are low and many don't hold office hours for students, the potential for low morale and labor strife can occur when colleges hire so many of them, said Whatcom Community College President Harold Heiner. But he added that's the way community colleges can handle so many students with the available funds.

Tan Vinh: 206-515-5656 or tvinh@seattletimes.com.