College of Western Idaho reports double‑digit enrollment growth, says EWA cap cut its funding

BOISE — The College of Western Idaho told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee on the college’s budget day that its academic enrollment rose about 13% this year and that the school is facing capacity constraints in several career‑technical and health programs.

Kevin Campbell, a budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, told the committee the college’s FY 2024 state appropriation was $20,816,700 and that CWI typically spends 100% of its state allocation. Campbell also noted the college’s FY 2026 budget request appears at page 1081 of the legislative budget book and that the referendum creating CWI passed on 05/22/2007.

Gordon Jones, president of the College of Western Idaho, told legislators the college now serves roughly 31,000 individuals across credit and noncredit programs and that “we are up this year 13% in our academic enrollment.” Jones said the growth is broad — dual credit, academic transfer and career‑technical education — with career‑technical education among the fastest growing areas.

Jones told the committee CWI is seeing capacity pressure in nursing, automotive technology, welding, cybersecurity and agricultural sciences. “I believe it's almost a hundred people on our nursing waiting list,” he said, adding the college has “1,000 students total on wait lists across all of our programs.” He described three sources of constraint: facilities, faculty‑to‑student ratios set by accrediting standards and student support services such as academic advising.

Committee members pressed Jones on the college’s enrollment workload adjustment, or EWA, and why CWI’s FY 2026 request shows $265,000. Jones said the EWA formula would have produced about $493,000 for CWI, but a State Board policy that applies a 3% cap on allowable growth reduced the amount the college could receive to $265,000. A co‑chair noted to the committee that “EWA is state board policy,” and Jones suggested the policy — not the formula’s output — determined the final figure recorded in the budget request.

Campbell reviewed recent budget history, saying FY 2023 was an outlier year that included larger adjustments and enhancements. He told the committee that CWI’s enhancements in FY 2024 totaled $1,100,000 for increased nursing capacity, increased STEM student capacity, student outreach and recruitment and additional compensation‑equity corrections (CEC). For FY 2026, Campbell reported CWI requested an ongoing $265,000 enrollment workload adjustment.

Jones also argued for the value and affordability of community colleges, telling JFAC that “no degree we offer costs more than $10,000” at the two‑year level and that community colleges educate the majority of Idahoans who go to college. He acknowledged pay pressures for faculty and staff compared with four‑year institutions and said many CWI faculty hold master’s or terminal degrees while receiving lower pay; he described teaching loads at the community college level as heavier than at typical universities.

The presentation closed with committee members asking for follow‑up materials, including a breakdown of capacity constraints by category (facilities, faculty, support services) and more detail on how EWA and the State Board cap affect each institution’s calculated amount.

No formal committee votes were taken during the CWI presentation.