Schools in this Study

Based on the scans, ASA identified 17 community colleges that have had a retrenchment event in the past 10 years, are in the midst of retrenchment, or are beginning to discuss it. The 17 colleges included four colleges each in Tennessee and Oregon, two in New York, and one each in California, Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, as mapped below and listed in Table 1. Also indicated in Table 1 are the year(s) in which the retrenchment event took place. For those colleges where retrenchment has not yet occurred at the time of the sources’ information, we estimated the year(s) of the event.

Of the 17 colleges identified, only 3 described the event as “retrenchment,” while 11 described it as a layoff event. The remaining three described the event as a revitalization of their academic offerings or a process to ensure program relevancy. Three general reasons for the retrenchment or restructuring event were cited by the colleges:

• Financial (9 colleges)
• Severe enrollment declines (10 colleges)
• Program realignment (3 colleges)

Notably, five colleges cited financial issues combined with enrollment declines as the reason for their retrenchment. Details about the reasons for restructuring or retrenchment events from the colleges follow.

Financial and Declining Enrollments

• The City College of San Francisco (CA) nearly lost its accreditation in 2015 due to financial mis- management after years of financial crises; the college had a $33 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2023. As a result, they announced they would cut about 200 faculty and staff, with more layoffs likely to occur in coming years. The college has a projected $5.8 million deficit for fiscal year 2025–2026. They also note that they have 22,000 fewer students enrolled than a decade ago. During the pandemic, their enrollments dropped even lower. 3 Matt. (2022, May 9). City college of SF finalizes 38 faculty layoffs during Friday meeting—with more expected to come. Hoodline. hoodline.com/2022/05/city-college-of-sf-finalizes-38-faculty-layoffs-during-friday-meeting-with-more-expected-to-come/ Go to reference

• Kirkwood Community College (IA) experienced a 12 percent enrollment decline in 2021 at the same time that inflation increased sharply. A severe derecho event in 2020 added insult to injury and cost the college $2.4 million in damages. These financial events caused the college to restructure and develop alternative financial management strategies. 4 Miller, V. (2023, February 14). 28 layoffs at Kirkwood will save $1.5M annually. The Gazette. thegazette.com/higher-education/kirkwoods-28-layoffs-will-save-1-5m-annually/ Go to reference

• Brookdale Community College (NJ) experienced budget shortfalls caused by decreased funding from the state and the county and declining tuition revenue; the “school has lost nearly $14.7 million over the past three years because of a $393,000 reduction in state aid, $9.4 million in county aid, and $5.7 million in tuition.” 5 The stated figures sum to $15.5 million rather than the total of $14.7 million stated in the source document. Go to reference 6 Serrano, K. (2014, November 18). Brookdale Community College’s layoff proposal detailed. Asbury Park Press. app.com/story/news/local/2014/11/14/ brookdale-community-college-layoff-plan/19050853/ Go to reference

• Erie Community College (NY), a SUNY college, cited a financial crisis due to an enrollment drop of about 50 percent over 11 years. 7 Joly, A. (2022, July 6). ECC to lay off approximately 90 employees. WIVB 4. wivb.com/news/education/ecc-to-lay-off-approximately-90-employees/ Go to reference

• Genesee Community College (NY), also a SUNY college, cited a 30 percent drop in state funding. Their budget in FY 2020–2021 was $38.1 million, 8 percent less than the target of $41.6 million (the amount of the 2019–2020 budget). 8 Pettinella, M. (2020, June 17). GCC president: Drastic measures have been taken to achieve a realistic 2020-21 budget. The Batavian. thebatavian.com/mike- pettinella/gcc-president-drastic-measures-have-been-taken-to-achieve-a-realistic-2020-21-budget Go to reference

• Blue Mountain Community College (OR), where enrollment dropped 65 percent over 10 years, experi- enced a “$2 million hole of which $1.3 million was personnel.” 9 Tillman, J. (2022, June 7). Blue Mountain Community College Board board approves budget, faculty layoffs. Union-Bulletin. union-bulletin.com/news/ northwest/blue-mountain-community-college-board-board-approves-budget-faculty-layoffs/article_8e313d88-e6b4-11ec-bb00-23745102dac1.html Go to reference

• Enrollment in all Tennessee colleges was 74,543 in Fall 2022, which is a drop of more than 14,000 from Fall 2019, just prior to the pandemic. 10 Hanson, E. (2022, April 6). Community colleges make massive layoffs in response to declining enrollment. Go2Tutors. go2tutors.com/community-college-staff-layoffs/ Go to reference

Revitalization and Program Relevancy

• The Community College of Aurora (CO) stated that it wants to make strong connections for students to the job market so that students can realize social mobility. To achieve this, the college reviewed its academic offerings, identified those with low demand, and began restructuring. 11 Gonzales, J. (2022, October 6). 30 degree, certificate programs to be cut at Aurora college. Chalkbeat Colorado. co.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/6/23390220/community-college-aurora-cut-30-degree-program-offerings-jobs Go to reference

• Similarly, Community College of Allegheny County (PA) will phase out several engineering programs that are in low demand and replace them with more current, in-demand engineering programs. 12 Chapman, C. (2023, March 31). Community College of Allegheny County cuts engineering programs. WTAE ABC 4. wtae.com/article/community-college-allegheny-county-engineering-program-cuts/43482712 Go to reference

• At Mt. Hood Community College (OR), “Our community looks to us to keep education affordable, relevant, and accessible. That means we have to make these tough decisions now....” 13 Ramakrishnan, J. (2020, January 16). Mt. Hood Community College board votes to get rid of 7 programs. OregonLive. oregonlive.com/eastportland/2020/01/mt-hood-community-college-board-votes-to-get-rid-of-7-programs.html Go to reference  During the college’s academic revitalization process, the college reviewed about 60 programs and identified seven to phase out.

• 3 Matt. (2022, May 9). City college of SF finalizes 38 faculty layoffs during Friday meeting—with more expected to come. Hoodline. hoodline.com/2022/05/city-college-of-sf-finalizes-38-faculty-layoffs-during-friday-meeting-with-more-expected-to-come/
• 4 Miller, V. (2023, February 14). 28 layoffs at Kirkwood will save $1.5M annually. The Gazette. thegazette.com/higher-education/kirkwoods-28-layoffs-will-save-1-5m-annually/
• 5 The stated figures sum to $15.5 million rather than the total of $14.7 million stated in the source document.
• 6 Serrano, K. (2014, November 18). Brookdale Community College’s layoff proposal detailed. Asbury Park Press. app.com/story/news/local/2014/11/14/ brookdale-community-college-layoff-plan/19050853/
• 7 Joly, A. (2022, July 6). ECC to lay off approximately 90 employees. WIVB 4. wivb.com/news/education/ecc-to-lay-off-approximately-90-employees/
• 8 Pettinella, M. (2020, June 17). GCC president: Drastic measures have been taken to achieve a realistic 2020-21 budget. The Batavian. thebatavian.com/mike- pettinella/gcc-president-drastic-measures-have-been-taken-to-achieve-a-realistic-2020-21-budget
• 9 Tillman, J. (2022, June 7). Blue Mountain Community College Board board approves budget, faculty layoffs. Union-Bulletin. union-bulletin.com/news/ northwest/blue-mountain-community-college-board-board-approves-budget-faculty-layoffs/article_8e313d88-e6b4-11ec-bb00-23745102dac1.html
• 10 Hanson, E. (2022, April 6). Community colleges make massive layoffs in response to declining enrollment. Go2Tutors. go2tutors.com/community-college-staff-layoffs/
• 11 Gonzales, J. (2022, October 6). 30 degree, certificate programs to be cut at Aurora college. Chalkbeat Colorado. co.chalkbeat.org/2022/10/6/23390220/community-college-aurora-cut-30-degree-program-offerings-jobs
• 12 Chapman, C. (2023, March 31). Community College of Allegheny County cuts engineering programs. WTAE ABC 4. wtae.com/article/community-college-allegheny-county-engineering-program-cuts/43482712
• 13 Ramakrishnan, J. (2020, January 16). Mt. Hood Community College board votes to get rid of 7 programs. OregonLive. oregonlive.com/eastportland/2020/01/mt-hood-community-college-board-votes-to-get-rid-of-7-programs.html