Prior to Ross Gittell’s tenure as chancellor of the Community College System there was a long-standing tradition of doing more with less. And during this time, the Brookings Institution ranked NHTI-Concord’s Community College the best value-added two-year college in the nation.
Although New Hampshire’s community colleges had the highest tuition in the country, NHTI was recognized for giving students an excellent education at an affordable price.
Poor financial decisions under Gittell’s leadership date back to Oct. 4, 2012, when administrative officers and staff received raises up to 50%, effective Dec. 28, 2012, and up to an additional 25% effective Dec. 27, 2013. On July 31, 2014, $2,534,567 was removed from the Strategic Initiative Fund to purchase ill-advised software, increase the administrative staff at the chancellor’s office and renovate their offices. All of this was done in the face of declining enrollment.
As a result, the seven CCSNH colleges suffered unprecedented faculty and staff reductions in 2015.
A performance audit of CCSNH was requested by the Public Higher Education Study Committee on May 31, 2016. This audit, which was made public in 2017, found that CCSNH ignored or failed to develop internal control policies and procedures, which led to costly and damaging management decisions. The chancellor made decisions that directed the limited human and financial resources of CCSNH away from students who paid for and deserve a quality education. Unfortunately, this performance audit did not change the poor spending habits at the chancellor’s office.
Here we are today, with more layoffs.
Removing experienced and dedicated faculty and staff who are essential to the education of students is shortsighted. This will not increase enrollment, nor is it in the best interest of current and/or potential students. The chancellor’s office has been predicting lower enrollment for the past seven years. Stating that they didn’t budget for it highlights, once again, their poor financial management.
Hearing that administrative positions were not impacted at NHTI because administrative positions remain unfilled is disingenuous. New administrative positions have been created and filled while numerous faculty and staff positions remain empty.
Just a few short years ago NHTI had a robust faculty in excess of 120. This number now barely breaks 80. Hiring advisers and enrollment specialists will not address the low number of full-time faculty in the classroom, the loss of high-quality librarians, the removal of the experienced and credentialed director of English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) or the elimination of a school nurse.
The state of New Hampshire provided funding to CCSNH to support excellent teaching and learning, not to support an already overpaid administration. Full-time faculty and staff are essential to student success, and these dedicated professionals must be returned to their crucial roles at NHTI.
(Laura Z. Morgan of Hopkinton is a professor of accounting at NHTI.)