The Vermont State Colleges system is being squeezed by stagnant state appropriations and a decline in the number of Vermont students going on to higher education.
Enrollment in the VSC system — which includes Castleton, Johnson and Lyndon state colleges, Vermont Technical College and Community College of Vermont (CCV) — has dropped from 13,494 in the fall of 2010 to 12,305 in the fall of 2014. That loss of 1,189 students, according to the latest data, represents nearly a 10 percent drop.
A longterm planning committee for VSC held its inaugural meeting Thursday in Montpelier, where trustees and staff brainstormed ways the five colleges can collaborate and grow enrollment.
Lyndon State College President Joe Bertolino said Plymouth State University in neighboring New Hampshire is “throwing a significant amount of money” to meteorology students, and Lyndon cannot compete with the financial aid offers. As a result, Lyndon is losing students for its nationally known meteorology program.
“Is there a better way that the system can help us? It’s something to discuss,” Bertolino said.
A more ‘tight-knit’ system
The longterm goal is to create a more unified system, according to Jerome Diamond, chair of the committee.
Bertolino said the VSC doesn’t have a choice “if all five colleges are to be viable.”
“You could have all five of the colleges continue to compete at a certain level, but I’m not convinced that all of them would continue to be sustainable for the next decade,” Bertolino said.
Each of the colleges drive economic activity in their communities.
Bertolino said drawing more graduates of CCV, also part of the VSC system, into the bachelor’s programs at the other state colleges is critical to bolstering the other colleges.
A stronger relationship among the colleges could boost enrollment and make it easier for students to transfer credits.
What other states are doing
Spaulding provided an overview of how other states have organized their public higher education systems.
Penn State is a system with many campuses that are all part of the Pennsylvania State University system, for example.
“It’s one system,” Spaulding said.
The California State University system was also offered as an example.
The schools are independently accredited universities, but they are a part of the California State University system, Spaulding said.
Maine, like Vermont, is moving toward a single state college system.
Trustee Churchill Hindes said the colleges shouldn’t give up on seeking more support from the state.
Vermont is near the bottom for state appropriations to help fund state higher education.
“We have a system in this state for higher education where the system is designed totally at random to promote economic development in Chittenden County,” said Rep. Tim Jerman, D-Essex, a VSC trustee “That’s where the money goes. It was not intentional.”
Spaulding said the new committee will meet again June 25 to try to reach some recommendations for the full board quickly.
“The sooner we can start making some decisions, the better off we’re going to be,” he said.
Belt-tightening
Reductions across the colleges have been made to address fiscal pressures, officials say.
“We are roughly 100 employees lighter than we were three years ago,” said Tricia Coates, director of external and government affairs.
Just under two dozen of those jobs — 21 — were layoffs, while the remainder are positions left open by attrition or retirements.
Coates said, “We have taken measures to tighten our belts.”
Reduced travel budgets, decisions to defer maintenance, consolidation of course sections, and other steps to cut costs have been put into motion across the VSC system, she said.
Strengthened marketing efforts out-of-state and within Vermont’s borders are being deployed and there will be stepped-up outreach to work to bolster enrollments, Coates said.
“A lot of Vermonters don’t recognize how much we have to offer right here within the Vermont State College system,” Coates said.
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