Tompkins Cortland Community College officials told the Tompkins County Legislature's Budget, Capital and Personnel Committee on June 12 that fall 2025 headcount is currently projected to be up nearly 28% and described program, staffing and financial moves intended to sustain growth.

The college's president, Amy Kremenek, said the enrollment surge follows a strategic enrollment planning process and operational changes intended to simplify admissions and retain students. "Our phone is literally ringing off the hook," Kremenek said of interest generated by SUNY Reconnect, the new free community college program for adults. Dennis Panagitsis, TC3 chief financial officer, presented the board-approved 202526#x201326 operating budget and highlighted a smaller planned use of fund balance compared with the prior year.

The nut graf: TC3 officials say a combination of strategic enrollment planning, a redesigned front-door Panther Welcome Center, more targeted recruitment and state programs such as SUNY Reconnect drove the projected jump in fall enrollment; the college approved a budget that reduces the planned use of reserves while holding tuition increases to 1.7%, and Tompkins County legislators unanimously approved a resolution to adopt the 202526#x201326 TC3 operating budget (Resolution ID 13283).

Officials described how the college's revenue mix aligns with the New York model in which community college funding comes from three main sources. Panagitsis summarized the 202526#x201326 budget picture: students would supply about 39% of revenue, state aid about 28% and county sponsor contributions roughly 31% (including sponsor county support and chargebacks). He said the college will use less than 0.1% of fund balance next year and expects an unrestricted fund balance of about $4.3 million at year-end, approximately 15% of the budget.

Panagitsis told legislators the board approved a 3% reduction in expenses that lowered use of fund balance by about $1.1 million and an 11% decrease in non-personnel contractual expenses. The college plans a 1.7% tuition increase; Panagitsis noted TC3 ranks ninth highest by tuition among the state's 29 SUNY community colleges in the comparison he ran (excluding New York City fashion institutes with different status).

Program and workforce notes

Kremenek described academic and workforce changes: a newly designed associate of science transfer program in health sciences to improve transfer pathways; new and renewed transfer agreements with institutions including Cornell, Hobart & William Smith and Syracuse University; a deactivation (board-approved) of the culinary arts program so faculty can redesign it to better align with regional workforce needs; and discontinuation of the general study certificate because it is primarily elective-based. On workforce training, she highlighted a certified nurse assistant (CNA) summer program graduating about 20 students, pre-apprenticeship work with BorgWarner, an advanced manufacturing partnership, a new CDL training partnership with Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga (TST) BOCES, and an EMT training partnership with SUNY Upstate starting this fall.

Legislators' questions and budget tradeoffs

Committee Chair Michael Lane and others asked about capacity to absorb more students and about transportation barriers. Kremenek said the college has classroom capacity and an "excellent cadre of adjunct faculty" and that scheduling optimization is helping. She added that transportation is a major challenge for many students and praised regional transit alignments but urged additional improvements so students can reach classes and jobs in reasonable time.

Shauna Black asked about the Cultivare culinary operation and the deactivation decision. Kremenek explained the restaurant had sustained multi-year operating losses and the college was spending roughly $450,000 annually to support it when enrollments declined; the foundation had been subsidizing operations but that was unsustainable. The college will seek a partner to operate the facility and is exploring alternative locations for culinary instruction while faculty assess program alignment with workforce demand.

On sponsor county support, Kremenek and Panagitsis said the college initially sought a 5% operating aid increase from its two sponsor counties, noting state-sponsored aid levels have been flat since 2019. Cortland County was unable to support the increase and, because state law requires both sponsor counties' support changes, the college decided to forgo the sponsor contribution request and reduce its budget through attrition rather than raise tuition further. Panagitsis said the board cut approximately $245,000 from the proposed budget and will realize those savings through personnel attrition.

Committee action and next steps

The committee first approved a resolution to hold a public hearing on the college budget, then voted unanimously to adopt the 202526#x201326 TC3 operating budget (Resolution ID 13283). Kremenek said the college board will present a facilities master plan in September and an updated strategic plan ("Sustaining a Vibrant Future") focused on the next three years will be circulated to the board this month.

Ending

Legislators thanked the TC3 delegation for the presentation and noted the county looks forward to the planned capital request later this year, including potential county support for a replacement student information system that the college said will soon reach end-of-life.