College of Southern Idaho cites 20% enrollment jump, requests $475,700 enrollment adjustment and infrastructure support

College of Southern Idaho President Dr. L. Dean Fisher told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the college experienced a 20% enrollment increase in fall 2024 and has added about 3,800 students since fall 2021, and is seeking a $475,700 enrollment workload adjustment for FY2026 to help meet demand.

The request — described by Kevin Campbell, budget and policy analyst with the Legislative Services Office, as the college’s FY2026 enrollment workload adjustment — is included in CSI’s enhancement packet and would fund new instructors to reduce class sizes and shorten wait lists. “The students are already there,” Fisher said when committee members asked whether the college was recruiting new students or trying to serve existing demand.

Why it matters: CSI officials said growth tied to Idaho Launch and other recruitment efforts has outpaced the college’s instructional capacity. That has produced waiting lists for clinical and technical programs and placed pressure on general-education courses needed by many new students.

Key details and context

- Enrollment growth and scale: President Fisher said CSI saw a 20% growth in fall 2024 (outside of dual credit) and has added roughly 3,800 students since fall 2021. For the 2023–24 academic year CSI enrolled 16,586 unique students in credit-bearing courses; the college also reported about 7,000 workforce engagements and 561 apprenticeships.

- Specific program bottlenecks: Fisher provided program examples to illustrate capacity limits. The radiologic technology program admits a cohort of about 15 students a year and currently has a waiting list of 84. The veterinary technology program is accredited for 40 students total (20 first-year, 20 second-year) under current faculty and accreditation rules; Fisher said the college could double the program with facility and ongoing faculty support. Welding instruction is being offered across multiple sites and hours (Twin Falls, Burley and Jerome), and CSI is running evening cohorts to fit demand.

- Proposed use of the $475,700 EWA request: Fisher told the committee the college would use the funding primarily to hire five additional instructors for general-education courses that support students in newly expanded CTE pathways. He estimated one faculty member serves about 150 students per academic year and that five hires could allow CSI to serve roughly 750 additional students.

- Compensation and staffing: Fisher and the committee discussed pay disparities for community-college faculty and staff. Fisher said CSI salaries lag regional community-college peers by about 12% and that an estimated $400,000 would be needed to improve faculty pay comparability with K–12 and regional institutions. He added that student services staff (mental-health counselors, financial-aid advisors, academic advisors) also lag peers in pay.

- Learning spaces and one-time infrastructure: Beyond recurring personnel costs, Fisher asked for one-time funds to address “learning spaces” and specialized facilities for trades. He recommended support for the governor’s proposed capacity-building funds and the governor’s one-time $15 million infrastructure proposal to expand specialized lab and clinical space.

- Affordability and student supports: Fisher highlighted success reducing textbook costs by shifting to open educational resources and other affordable materials; the college reported textbook costs declined by about 50% after those investments. He also cited strong retention (an 85% fall-to-spring retention rate) and described growth of a Bridge-to-Success program that scaled from 40 to about 500 participants with legislative support.

What the committee heard and next steps

Committee members repeatedly asked whether the new students were primarily Idaho residents; Fisher said roughly 95% of CSI students are Idaho residents and that regional recruitment adds a small number of out-of-state students. Committee members pressed on which specific courses hires would support; Fisher said the five instructors would be in general-education areas but that the college hopes CTE-specific expansions will be funded from the governor’s proposed CTE capacity dollars.

The presentation was an informational budget hearing; no formal committee action was taken at the meeting. Fisher asked JFAC members for support for both the ongoing enrollment workload adjustment and one-time infrastructure funding.