Community College of Philadelphia asks city for $8 million to cover faculty contract, spotlights enrollment gains and workforce programs

Community College of Philadelphia board chair Harold T. Epps told Philadelphia City Council on Tuesday that the college needs an additional $8 million from the city to sustain operations and meet obligations from a newly finalized four‑year contract with the faculty and staff federation.

The request came during a Committee of the Whole budget hearing in which interim college president Dr. Alicia Marshall outlined enrollment gains, program expansions and workforce partnerships the college says are producing job pipelines for city residents.

Epps said the $8 million request is “to maintain certain thresholds that keep our accreditation, avoid a tuition increase, and meet the goals and objectives” set in contract negotiations. “We need an incremental total of $8,000,000,” he said.

Marshall, who was appointed interim president by the college board the previous Monday, told council the college has posted three consecutive years of enrollment growth and led Pennsylvania’s 15 community colleges this year with more than 18,000 credit students. “This year, we led all 15 community colleges in Pennsylvania with more than 18,000 credit students,” she said, and added that spring, summer and early‑fall registrations showed double‑ and triple‑digit percentage increases in some terms.

The college highlighted several program and facilities updates. Marshall described the City College for Municipal Employment (CCME), a city partnership that enrolled more than 100 students in its first year and is creating pipelines into positions in public property, fleet services and other municipal jobs. She also noted a $2,760,000 U.S. Navy grant to launch a welding and non‑destructive testing program at the Career and Advanced Technology Center (CATC) and said employers including Holtec, Rhodes Industry and SEPTA have hired CCP graduates.

Council members pressed for detail on how the college would cover the cost of the new contract and whether the city’s five‑year budget proposal — which shows a $2 million reduction in CCP funding in the upcoming year and a flat projection thereafter — would create gaps if enrollment continues to grow. Epps and Marshall said negotiations with the mayor’s office and city finance staff were ongoing and that the college had raised the issues with administration representatives.

A recurring topic in the hearing was student access to transit. Council members asked whether the college could deliver on a bargaining agreement commitment to provide SEPTA passes to students. Marshall said the college formed a working group that has begun talks with SEPTA and with union and student representatives; college staff said a cost estimate is still being negotiated and that the expense would be substantial.

Officials also discussed deferred maintenance and capital needs. Jacob Eapen, vice president for business and finance, told council the college faces roughly $80 million in deferred maintenance and must prioritize repairs while managing operating costs.

Several council members and staff asked about programs targeted to specific populations and outcomes tracking. Marshall and other college officials described existing and planned supports: the Octavio Caudill scholarship (launched in 2021) now serves its largest cohort; a Single Stop program provides housing and food insecurity support; and a foster‑youth housing pilot in partnership with the Philadelphia Housing Authority offers a small number of shared housing units for former foster‑care students. College officials also said they are improving data systems — including a CRM called Slate and new analytics tools — to better track enrollment, completion and job placement.

On leadership, the board chair acknowledged the recent leadership transition at CCP and defended the board’s decision not to renew the previous president’s contract. “We evaluated all of that and concluded that it was time for a change,” Epps said; Marshall, the former provost, said she would focus the interim role on sustaining momentum, expanding workforce partnerships and refreshing the college’s strategic plan.

Council members praised the college’s nursing program outcomes, workforce training at CATC and the CCME pilot, while several requested more granular district‑level enrollment data and clearer timelines and cost estimates for SEPTA pass coverage. The committee recessed at the end of the hearing and set a follow‑up meeting for April (date specified in the committee motion).