College of Western Idaho tells JFAC rapid enrollment is straining capacity; EWA boost limited by 3% cap

Summary

Gordon Jones, president of the College of Western Idaho, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that the college is experiencing rapid enrollment growth — about 13% academic enrollment this year — and that limitations in facilities, faculty and student support have left nursing and several CTE programs with significant wait lists.

Gordon Jones, president of the College of Western Idaho, told the Joint Finance‑Appropriations Committee that the college is experiencing continued, rapid enrollment growth that is outpacing available classroom space, faculty and student‑support services.

"Growth continues ... we are up this year 13% in our academic enrollment," Jones said. He told the committee the college is "lean" and must prioritize which programs to expand as demand rises.

The College of Western Idaho (CWI) reported nearly 22,000 credit students and more than 30,000 students served in the 2023‑24 academic year in the Legislative Services Office budget book; Jones later described the college as serving roughly 31,000 individuals. At the hearing, he said the college is seeing capacity constraints in nursing, automotive technology, welding, cybersecurity and agricultural sciences and that those constraints fall into three categories: facilities,…

College of Western Idaho tells JFAC rapid enrollment is straining capacity; EWA boost limited by 3% cap

Summary

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