College of Western Idaho tells JFAC enrollment up 13%; nursing and CTE programs face wait lists as EWA cap limits funding

The College of Western Idaho (CWI) told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee (JFAC) that academic enrollment rose about 13% this year, producing wait lists in high‑demand programs and constraining facilities, faculty and student support services.

CWI President Gordon Jones said on the record that the college reported roughly 13% growth in academic enrollment this year and that the institution serves nearly 31,000 students across credit and noncredit programs. "We have capacity issues," Jones said, citing nursing, automotive technology, welding, cybersecurity and agricultural sciences as the main areas with waiting lists and limits imposed by accreditation or program requirements.

The enrollment workload adjustment (EWA), which is applied under State Board policy, produced a smaller ongoing increase for CWI than the formula would have allowed because the college hit a 3% cap on allowed annual growth, Jones and Legislative Services Office analyst Kevin Campbell told the committee. Jones said the EWA amount shown in the college request—$265,000 for FY 2026—reflects that cap; without it, he said, the formula would have produced…