Classrooms are\u00a0full\u00a0at\u00a0Del Mar College ever since a tuition-waiver experiment made college free for\u00a0eligible\u00a0students \u2014 so full that the college would like\u00a0to hire more faculty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But\u00a0as college leaders work to complete next year's budget this summer, they have to reckon with unfulfilled funding promises from the state.\u00a0Growth will have to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since 2023, Texas has tied\u00a0dollars to student outcomes for community colleges. But because schools have surpassed forecasts for student success, the\u00a0state isn't able to\u00a0provide every dollar the\u00a0community\u00a0colleges earned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This amounts to a $3.5 million hit to Del Mar College alone.<\/p>\n
In 2023, community colleges were promised\u00a0a dynamic, performance-based\u00a0funding model,\u00a0whereby\u00a0institutions earned state dollars with graduations,\u00a0transfers\u00a0and completions.\u00a0Previously, community college funding was\u00a0based\u00a0primarily\u00a0on\u00a0enrollment, with only a small piece related to performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"We would have to be focused on not just getting people into seats, but getting them through the curriculum and completed,"\u00a0Del Mar College President Mark\u00a0Escamilla said, recalling how the shift in the funding model changed how community colleges were rewarded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state also\u00a0created a new program for\u00a0funding dual credit courses for low-income students.\u00a0Together, the shift to performance-based funding and the influx of dollars for dual credit programs\u00a0have transformed Del Mar College.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though the state's Financial Aid for Swift Transfer program is designed for\u00a0economically disadvantaged\u00a0students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, Del Mar College went a\u00a0step further to offer no-cost dual credit courses for all students at participating\u00a0high\u00a0schools across the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0The pilot program will enter its second year this fall, welcoming a new cohort of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Historically, many of the college's students have studied part time. But the college\u00a0expects students will persist at\u00a0higher rates and complete their programs sooner by studying full time. When they finish, state dollars will flow to the college.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Del Mar College\u00a0celebrated its largest graduating class this past spring.\u00a0In 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"They had no idea that community colleges would blow the roof off," Escamilla said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Texas\u00a0Higher 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
"They missed the mark," Escamilla said. "That's\u00a0how we were shortchanged. It was just an unfortunate miscalculation on the\u00a0forecasting."\u00a0<\/p>\n
State leaders told the colleges to prepare for a "shave," Escamilla said.\u00a0<\/p>\n