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GCC Trustees Approve 2010-2011 Budget

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP - The Gogebic Community College Board of Trustees met last evening for a Budget Hearing. The Budget Hearing was immediately followed by the Board’s November Board Meeting. The nearly ten million dollar 2010-2011 General Fund Budget was described to the trustees by Erik Guenard, the Dean of Finance at GCC.

The revenues for 2010-2011 are projected to be $9,966,970 an increase of $500,652 over the adjusted 2009-2010 budget. An increase of 5.29%
The projected 2010-2011 Expenses are $9,809,917, an increase of $581,267. A 6.3% increase.

The bottom line to GF is an increase of $157,053, down from last year’s increase of $237,668.

The expected General Fund Balance at the end of 2010-2011 is $1,193,839.

The 2010-2011 Designated Fund Balances are also projected to increase, with a year-end balance of $291,984 as compared to $189,426 for the previous year. There three other funds, Auxiliary, Plant and Restricted Budgets and the projects for these funds are also positive.
“The entire college has worked very diligently to keep expenditures in line, given our enrollment growth,” said Guenard. “We have been planning ahead to absorb some of the budgetary decisions that are anticipated to come from the State of Michigan in the next several years.”

At the regular monthly board meeting, the Trustees unanimously approved the $9,966,970 budget.

GCC President James Lorenson presented a report to the Trustees that was promulgated by the U.S. Department of Education and presented by the National Center for Education. That report indicates that In a comparison with the members of its peer group GCC is an outstanding performer.

According to President Lorenson, the high achievement depicted in the report will serve GCC well if or when state funding becomes allocated on a performance basis.

Some of the data in the report that focuses on expenses is somewhat skewed, in that 19% of the 26 institutions in the report were domiciled in Minnesota and in that state some school services are performed centrally and not at the specific college.

The characteristics of the peer group include small, public, 2-year colleges, in the Midwestern states and enrollment of a similar size. The enrollment figures used for GCC are somewhat larger than the average for the peer group. The unduplicated head count for GCC is 1.22 times larger than that of the peer group and total FTE (full time equivalent) enrollment that is 1.17 times that of its peers.

Baring that in mind, GCC successfully awards Associates Degrees by 1.59 times that of its peers. The achievement for certificated students is even greater, 2.47 times the peer group.

The report also covers grants loans and cost of tuition as well as net cost of attendance. Here again GCC performs better than its peers. From the 2006-2007 academic year to the 2009/2010 academic year, tuition costs have risen by 17.9% for the overall group, but those costs have risen only 11.2% for GCC students. On a net cost, tuition less grants or aid, the peer group’s average net annual cost is $8,475 as compared to $2,503 for GCC students.

Click to view the full report

In other action, December candidates for graduation were approved and will be invited to attend the Commencement Ceremony in May.
A proposal for engineering work for the installation of a back-up generator on the Solin Business Building to support Institutional Technology was awarded to UP Engineers and Architects of Houghton, MI.

The Board also confirmed the resignation of Monica Powers as the Dean of Student Services, effective November 3, 2010. Jeanne Graham, the college’s Director of Admissions and Public Information, has been appointed as the Interim Dean of Students Services, with Deans Guenard and Trzaska also assuming additional responsibilities in areas related to their assignments.