North Idaho College sees 15% enrollment rebound but faces EWA cut; asks for capacity, nursing and cybersecurity support

North Idaho College reported a marked enrollment turnaround — roughly 15% growth in both fall and spring terms — but told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee the State Board’s Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) formula produced a budgetary reduction that will bite into capacity-building needs.

Kevin Campbell, the Legislative Services Office analyst, introduced NIC’s budget overview and cited the college’s FY 2026 materials, saying the EWA results in “an ongoing reduction of $446,800.” Dr. Nick Swayne, president of North Idaho College, told JFAC the college was up about 15% in the fall and another ~15% in the spring and added roughly 571 new students on campus this spring alone.

Why it matters: NIC said the trailing-average EWA penalizes institutions during rapid rebounds because the three-year formula lags current growth. NIC asked JFAC to consider capacity funding targeted to nursing and welding programs, and requested help with cybersecurity spending that more than doubled after recent attacks.

Capacity needs and program specifics President Swayne told the committee NIC has program-level limits driven by accreditation and clinical supervision requirements. For nursing, the college currently admits about 40 students per semester and requested funds to grow initial cohorts to 60 per semester, an increase Swayne said would require roughly five additional nursing faculty (including clinical instructors) and associated support. He told the committee NIC had waiting lists (70–77 students for nursing) and used an early round of state CTE funding to increase first‑year nursing seats.

On welding, Swayne said the program consistently fills and that an additional welding instructor would let the college double first-year seats and preserve second‑year retention when employers hire during year one. For public-safety training, Swayne said the POST academy serves a regional need for law-enforcement training, and for cybersecurity he said NIC’s security budget grew from about $250,000 a year to above $500,000 following targeted attacks on the college and local governments.

Accreditation status and staffing pressures Swayne told JFAC NIC had been placed on show-cause in February 2023, a designation tied to staffing turnover among senior staff, and said that as of the day before the hearing the college was “officially off show cause and in under probation.” He described recruitment challenges in a higher-cost housing market: candidates are deterred by accreditation risk and by local cost-of-living vs. compensation levels, which complicates searches for faculty and professional staff.

Budget math and EWA mechanics Campbell and Swayne explained that EWA is a trailing formula based on a multi-year weighted average of credit hours; rapid growth therefore does not immediately restore prior funding levels and can produce reductions even as headcount rises. Swayne asked the committee to consider both one-time infrastructure funding and targeted recurring enhancements to meet program supervision ratios and clinical requirements that are set by accrediting agencies.

What was not decided No formal votes or appropriations were taken during the hearing. NIC requested that JFAC consider holding the college harmless from abrupt EWA losses while funding targeted capacity investments in nursing, welding and cybersecurity.