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North Idaho College reports double-digit enrollment gains but faces EWA-driven cut of $446,800
Summary
North Idaho College told JFAC it recorded roughly 15% enrollment growth in fall 2024 and spring 2025 but that the Enrollment Workload Adjustment formula produces an ongoing reduction of $446,800 for FY2026; NIC officials said clinical capacity, nursing faculty and cybersecurity are priority needs.
North Idaho College officials told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that the college has reversed a multi-year enrollment decline—reporting roughly 15% growth in both fall 2024 and the current spring term—but faces an Enrollment Workload Adjustment (EWA) result that reduces ongoing base funding by $446,800 for fiscal 2026.
Kevin Campbell, Legislative Services Office budget analyst, reviewed NIC's budget history and told the committee the EWA produced an ongoing reduction of $446,800 in FY2026 for North Idaho College. Campbell also summarized that NIC's five-year base appropriations history shows typical full spending of state funds aside from pandemic-related federal dollars.
President Nick Swayne described the enrollment turnaround and its operational impacts. "So that the cut in EWA is really painful this year because we are growing," Swayne told the committee, noting that NIC was up about 15.5% in the fall and had added several hundred students in the spring term. He said the college recorded "571 new students on campus this spring alone" and that the trailing-average nature of EWA gives a funding shortfall while costs arrive immediately.
Swayne highlighted program-level capacity limits. He said nursing faculty need additional hires to increase intake from 40 students per semester toward a goal of 60. He reported the nursing program had a waiting list of about 77 students this spring; a recent round of funding allowed NIC to accept eight more students than it otherwise could. Swayne also described welding demand (first-year students are often hired into local industry before completing year two) and growing cybersecurity costs: "our budget went from about $250,000 a year... up to, above 500,000 a year," he told the committee, describing higher annual spending on cyber defense and related services.
Swayne told the committee NIC has taxing authority in Kootenai County only and operates outreach centers in Sandpoint, Rathdrum and Post Falls. He said nursing, allied health clinical supervision ratios and clinical-site coordination impose fixed faculty and supervision costs that do not scale with tuition in the short term.
No committee vote was held. NIC asked for support on capacity-building funding and for consideration of EWA treatment as enrollment reverses upward.
