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Dive Brief:
- Walla Walla Community College’s governing board voted last week to close the institution’s satellite campus in Clarkston, Washington, as leaders try to address a $4.3 million budget gap.
- The college is planning a two-year teach-out period for the campus to run through June 2028, allowing current students to complete their programs, WWCC said in a news release.
- At the same time, college President Chad Hickox will talk with state lawmakers and stakeholders over the next year about alternative funding sources that could offer a way to “sustain the college’s physical presence in Clarkston beyond the two-year teach-out,” according to the college.
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Dive Insight:
WWCC leaders are in early talks with local healthcare executives about a cost-share model for the nursing and healthcare programs that could leave some physical presence in the Clarkston area, according to a college spokesperson.
In recent months, the community college’s leaders had been mulling multiple options for the Clarkston campus.
Keeping it open would entail a $23,500 increase in operating costs for the institution, college leaders told the board during a March presentation. Closing the campus entirely, meanwhile, would save WWCC $3.2 million in annual expenses, they said at the time.
The board also considered paring down Clarkston to just its nursing and healthcare programs.
The Clarkston campus currently enrolls about 82 nursing students, and the college spends about $2 million on salaries for their program, according to the March presentation.
Community members and WWCC employees have expressed shock to local media at the possibility of closing the campus and have pushed back on the proposal in previous board meetings.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions our college has faced,” Hickox said in a statement about the April 9 vote to close the campus. “But it is necessary to ensure that Walla Walla Community College remains strong, accessible, and able to serve students across our entire region for years to come.”
Trustees are also considering plans that would lay off 43 faculty and staff members to ease the college’s budget pain.Leaders have pointed to structural deficits from rising operating costs and reduced state funding as reasons for the situation they’re in.
In its release last week, the college said personnel costs account for about 80% of its operating budget, explaining that “layoffs will be necessary across both campuses.”