College of Western Idaho tells JFAC enrollment up 13% and details capacity, EWA limits

College of Western Idaho President Gordon Jones told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday that CWI’s academic enrollment rose about 13% this year and that growth has produced capacity constraints in nursing and career-technical programs.

Jones made the remarks during a presentation of CWI’s base budget and FY 2026 request by Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office. Campbell said CWI’s FY 2024 state appropriation was $20,816,700 and that CWI typically spends 100% of its state appropriation.

Why it matters: Committee members questioned how the state’s Enrollment Workload Adjustment, or EWA, is applied to fast-growing community colleges and heard that a 3% cap imposed by guidance from the State Board reduced CWI’s EWA in the current budget cycle. That cap lowered the college’s calculated EWA from roughly $493,000 to the $265,000 shown in its FY 2026 request, Jones said.

Jones said the college now serves roughly 31,000 individuals across credit and noncredit enrollments, and that CWI reports nearly 22,000 credit…