Albany Technical College’s Budget Forecast for FY 2024 Projected to Fall Short
Albany, Georgia – Albany Technical College (ATC) is planning a Reduction in Force (RIF) this month to offset a projected budget shortage, due to factors affecting the college’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget forecast.
The College experienced minimal gains in student enrollment (7.5%) and credit hour production (7.1%) for the academic year (AY)2023, and academic year (AY)2024 is trending towards similar growth. In fact, compared to fall 2022, the College experienced a 6.7% increase in student enrollment and a 5.1% increase in credit hour production for fall 2023.
Despite marginal growth in AY2023 and AY2024, Albany Technical College experienced a significant decline in student enrollment during the academic years 2021 and 2022. The current pace of enrollment growth is not aligned with the cost of operation due to earning only 86% of the College’s projected budget through tuition and fees for the fall 2023 semester and not fully reaching enrollment recovery from significant loss of student enrollment (-14.5%) and credit hour production (-21%) the College experienced in academic years 2021 and 2022; therefore, without operational adjustment, the College’s budget forecast for FY 2024 is projected to fall short.
A primary factor contributing to the RIF includes the decline in traditional student enrollment. Roughly 35% of the College’s Fall 2023 enrollment growth is attributed to high school dual enrollment, where students average just 3 to 6 credit hours per term versus traditional full-time credit enrolled students, who average between 12 to 15 credit hours. With ATC serving a seven-county service delivery area (SDA), 70% of the student population is derived from two counties (Dougherty and Lee), and 80% of the population is from seven counties (Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Dougherty, Lee, Randolph, and Terrell). According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the decline in the overall general population in Southwest Georgia is considered an important factor in the traditional student enrollment decline. “Albany Technical College is a purpose and mission-driven educational institution that is determined to meet the uncertain and complex workforce development needs of Southwest Georgia by being upright stewards of state and federal funds,” said Dr. Emmett Griswold, President of ATC. “With employee salary and fringe costs making up 80% of the college’s budget, operational realignment is necessary to meet budgetary obligations and to remain agile, nimble, responsive, and receptive to new ideas, current and future workforce development demands in our service delivery area.”
Griswold said the RIF would affect seven full-time positions – one full-time faculty position, and six full-time staff positions. In addition to these positions that are under the RIF, the College will not fill five of its vacant full-time faculty positions and three vacant staff positions. Part-time faculty and staff instead of full-time will be utilized to operate vacant full-time positions. The college has completed a comprehensive review of all part-time faculty and staff, operational budgets, limited employee travel for essential purposes only, and reduced costs in various departments college-wide.