College of Southern Idaho cites 20% enrollment surge, urges funding for faculty, facilities

The College of Southern Idaho reported a 20% increase in fall enrollment and urged the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee to back state support for faculty, facilities and one-time infrastructure to sustain rapid growth.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, opened the presentation for JFAC, noting that CSI’s FY 2026 request “is for the enrollment workload adjustment in the amount of $475,700.” The college’s president, Dr. L. Dean Fisher, told the committee the growth was driven in part by the Idaho Launch program and that CSI added roughly 3,800 students to annual totals since fall 2021.

Why it matters: CSI said the enrollment increase is already straining classrooms, clinical placements and specialized labs used by career and technical education (CTE) programs. The college asked JFAC to support the governor’s capacity-building proposal — including one-time infrastructure funds — and to continue efforts to raise faculty and staff pay toward regional parity.

CSI’s case and request Dr. L. Dean Fisher, president of the College of Southern Idaho, told JFAC the 20% growth was outside dual-credit programs and that the college’s fall-to-spring retention is strong. He said CSI served 16,586 unique credit-bearing students in 2023–24, reported about 7,000 workforce engagements and 561 apprenticeships, and that continued expansion requires both instructors and learning space.

Fisher described program-specific bottlenecks: the radiologic technology program admits 15 students per cohort but has a waiting list of 84; nursing programs face constraints from clinical placement and faculty availability; welding cohorts are running from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to meet demand. For one requested enhancement, Fisher said the college planned to hire five general-education instructors to reduce class sizes and wait lists if CTE-specific funding is provided by the governor and legislature.

On compensation, Fisher said CSI lags regional peers. He told the committee that community-college pay is “about 12% off of what the pay is within the region at community colleges” and estimated roughly $400,000 annually would narrow the gap with K–12 pay ladders. He asked continued legislative attention to compensation for faculty and student-support staff such as mental-health counselors and financial-aid advisors.

Context on funding and formulas Campbell reminded members that Idaho community colleges derive revenue from a mix of property taxes levied by trustee boards, tuition and fees (legislatively capped), and annual state appropriations. He summarized the Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) as a State Board of Education formula that adjusts budgets using a three-year weighted-credit-hour average; recent changes moved the EWA into the enhancements budget.

Fisher asked the committee to consider the governor’s proposed one-time infrastructure funding (the college recommended support for $15 million for learning spaces) and ongoing capacity funding tied to hiring and program expansion. He also highlighted CSI’s Bridge to Success program, which scaled from about 40 students to roughly 500 with legislative support and contributed to improved retention.

What was not decided There were no formal votes or committee actions recorded on CSI funding during this session. Fisher framed his remarks as requests and recommendations for JFAC consideration in the FY 2026 budget cycle.

Ending note Fisher closed by emphasizing CSI’s 60th anniversary and by reiterating requests for capacity-building funds and compensation adjustments to sustain student growth and program quality.