Classrooms are full at Del Mar College ever since a tuition-waiver experiment made college free for eligible students — so full that the college would like to hire more faculty.
But as college leaders work to complete next year's budget this summer, they have to reckon with unfulfilled funding promises from the state. Growth will have to wait.
Since 2023, Texas has tied dollars to student outcomes for community colleges. But because schools have surpassed forecasts for student success, the state isn't able to provide every dollar the community colleges earned.
This amounts to a $3.5 million hit to Del Mar College alone.
In 2023, community colleges were promised a dynamic, performance-based funding model, whereby institutions earned state dollars with graduations, transfers and completions. Previously, community college funding was based primarily on enrollment, with only a small piece related to performance.
"We would have to be focused on not just getting people into seats, but getting them through the curriculum and completed," Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla said, recalling how the shift in the funding model changed how community colleges were rewarded.
The state also created a new program for funding dual credit courses for low-income students. Together, the shift to performance-based funding and the influx of dollars for dual credit programs have transformed Del Mar College.
Though the state's Financial Aid for Swift Transfer program is designed for economically disadvantaged students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, Del Mar College went a step further to offer no-cost dual credit courses for all students at participating high schools across the region.
Last year, the college launched its Freedom to Dream program, which waives tuition costs for eligible students who commit to a full-time course load. The pilot program will enter its second year this fall, welcoming a new cohort of students.
Historically, many of the college's students have studied part time. But the college expects students will persist at higher rates and complete their programs sooner by studying full time. When they finish, state dollars will flow to the college.
Del Mar College celebrated its largest graduating class this past spring. In July, nonpartisan think tank Texas 2036 released a report finding that there has been a 22.3% increase in credential attainments at Texas community colleges since 2023.
"They had no idea that community colleges would blow the roof off," Escamilla said.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's forecasts for what community college outcomes would look like, and therefore how much money the state would need to fund the colleges, fell short.
"They missed the mark," Escamilla said. "That's how we were shortchanged. It was just an unfortunate miscalculation on the forecasting."
State leaders told the colleges to prepare for a "shave," Escamilla said.