North Idaho College growth clashes with EWA reduction; president says nursing, welding and cyber needs require targeted funding

Dr. Nick Swayne, president of North Idaho College, told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that NIC’s enrollment climbed sharply in 2024 even as the EWA formula produced an ongoing FY2026 reduction of $446,800. He and analysts said the trailing-average EWA calculation penalizes colleges in recovery years and is creating a budget gap while enrollment and program demand increase.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, presented NIC’s budget overview and reported that NIC’s FY2026 formula results in an ongoing EWA reduction of $446,800. "In FY 2026, the EWA formula results in an ongoing reduction of $446,800," Campbell said during the presentation.

Why it matters: NIC officials said the college is experiencing across-the-board enrollment gains (traditional, dual credit and CTE) and faces program-level constraints in nursing, welding and public-safety training. The college also highlighted growing cyber-security costs and said recent accreditation status changes have complicated recruitment and retention in a high cost-of-living region.

Most important facts

- Enrollment vs. EWA: President Swayne said NIC was up about 15% in fall 2024 and up another roughly 15% in spring, with 571 new students on campus this spring. Those gains follow a multiyear decline; Swayne said the prior trend (circa 2009) had enrollment declining 3–6% annually before recent programmatic efforts reversed that trend.

- EWA reduction: The legislative analyst and NIC reported an ongoing EWA reduction of $446,800 for FY2026, which college leaders described as a ‘‘big bite’’ while the college is growing.

- Nursing capacity and waiting lists: NIC seeks to add five nursing faculty positions to increase clinical capacity and grow first-year nursing intake from 40 to 60 students per semester (a ~50% increase). Swayne told the committee NIC had between 70 and 77 students on the nursing waiting list this spring and that temporary governor funding had allowed incremental intake increases.

- Welding and other CTE needs: NIC asked for a welding instructor to expand first-year capacity (the program often fills and students are hired after year one, reducing second-year continuation). The college said some CTE program growth is constrained by faculty and instructor availability rather than facilities.

- Cyber-security costs and accreditation context: Swayne said NIC’s cyber-security expenses rose from about $250,000 to over $500,000 per year and that the college was recently moved from an accreditation "show cause" status (February 2023) to probation; he said as of the night before the hearing NIC was off show-cause but remained on probation, which complicates recruitment and retention in a high cost-of-living area near Spokane.

Committee questions and context

- Representative Petzke asked why NIC experienced an EWA reduction while enrollment rose; Swayne explained EWA is a trailing average and penalizes institutions during a growth year.

- Senators and representatives pressed for details on which programs are driving growth (Swayne said gains were across transfer, dual credit and CTE but cited healthcare programs as primary capacity constraints), and asked how governor capacity funds would be used (welding instructor, nursing faculty, clinical coordination and cyber-security support were cited).

Discussion, direction, outcome

The presentation was informational; committee members discussed EWA mechanics, the governor’s capacity set-aside and the college’s accreditation status. No formal committee action or vote was recorded.

Ending

NIC leaders asked committee members to consider targeted, ongoing faculty funding and one-time infrastructure support to reduce wait lists in critical workforce programs and to help the college secure and retain qualified staff in a competitive regional market.