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College of Southern Idaho tells JFAC surge in enrollment is straining capacity; requests instructors and infrastructure funding
Summary
College of Southern Idaho officials told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee they saw a 20% fall enrollment increase after Idaho Launch, and requested an enrollment workload adjustment and one-time infrastructure funding to hire faculty and expand learning space.
At a Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee hearing, College of Southern Idaho President Dr. L. Dean Fisher and Legislative Services Office analyst Kevin Campbell told lawmakers the college experienced a 20% increase in fall enrollment and has added roughly 3,800 students since fall 2021, stressing instructional and facility capacity.
The president said the surge was driven in part by Idaho Launch and by growth in first‑time students rather than dual‑credit enrollments. "The students are already there, Senator Cook," Fisher said, arguing the college needs more instructors and space to serve existing applicants rather than to recruit new students.
Fisher and the analyst described the college's FY2026 request. Campbell told the panel that the College of Southern Idaho's FY2026 request includes an enrollment workload adjustment (EWA) of $475,700. Fisher asked the committee to support the governor's proposed capacity‑building funds for career and technical education (CTE) and a $15 million one‑time allocation for infrastructure to create or renovate specialized learning spaces.
Why it matters: Committee members pressed college leaders on where additional staff would be placed and how many students new hires would serve. Fisher said CSI planned to use the EWA funds to hire five general‑education instructors to reduce class sizes and wait lists for required support courses; he estimated one additional full‑time faculty member serves about 150 students per academic year, so five hires could allow roughly 750 more student enrollments in credit‑bearing classes.
Fisher also raised compensation concerns for community college faculty and staff. He told the committee CSI payrolls lag regional community college peers by about 12 percent and said "about a $400,000 amount would allow us to catch up" on a portion of that gap. He urged continued legislative attention to faculty and staff pay parity with peer institutions and K‑12.
The presentation noted CSI typically spends its full state appropriation and that appropriations to community colleges are made as a single trustee and benefits line rather than by object category. Campbell reminded members that the enrollment workload adjustment is a multi‑year, formula‑based calculation managed by the State Board of Education and that its placement in budgets has shifted in recent years between maintenance and enhancement lines.
Members asked about specific CTE bottlenecks; Fisher cited radiologic technology as an example with a cohort capacity of 15 students and a waiting list of 84, and nursing and welding as other areas where clinical placement, equipment and faculty constrain expansion. Fisher said CSI runs welding cohorts across multiple sites and times and has stretched facilities and part‑time instruction to meet demand.
Fisher closed by highlighting student success metrics he described as strengths — a reported 85% fall‑to‑spring retention rate that he said exceeds the national average — and by reiterating requests for the governor's capacity proposals and continued support for community college compensation improvements.
No formal committee votes were recorded during the presentation.
