To the Legislative Audit Committee:
We have been advised by several
lawmakers to seek a Legislative Audit of the Colorado Community College System
(CCCS). All
the data available to us, as well as the system's spending patterns, suggests
the CCCS can well afford to compensate their teachers equitably. Yet the
CCCS insists they simply do not have the funds. We would like to determine if
this claim is an objective assessment, a subjective judgement invoking
legitimate system priorities, or an attempt to mislead legislators and
taxpayers. Please let us know what steps we
need to follow to begin the process. Here is a brief rationale for the audit:
You may be familiar with our two
recent bills that sought to redress the abysmal working conditions of half of
the CCCS workforce, namely its 4,600+ adjunct faculty who teach 80% of all the
courses 13 colleges offer. By far most of these adjunct professors are at work
in the cities along the Front Range, where adjunct faculty average between
60-75% of the total faculty on any given campus. The backbone of the CCCS teaching are paid poverty-level
wages, have no sick leave, health care benefit, due process, shared governance
and fast-disappearing academic freedom.
A 2014 State of Colorado Joint Budget Committee report determined the financial health of Colorado’s higher
education institutions and rated the CCCS as the largest and most financially
secure institution of higher education in the state. Our House Bill 14-1154,
as well as our Senate Bill 15-094,
sought to make some of that revenue available to the hardworking faculty
majority, many of whom are working two or three jobs to make ends meet. Both
bills were defeated, largely because the CCCS administration used more than $132K
from the CCCS budget to pay lobbyists to make sure the bills were defeated. As
a result, morale within the faculty is at an all-time low, and we are losing
highly qualified and devoted faculty who can hang on no longer.
Over the past few years, the CCCS
ratcheted up its policy of replacing vacated, full-time faculty positions with three
or four adjunct faculty. The CCCS now has approximately 500 fewer full-time
faculty than it did in 2010, and has hired more than 1,000 more adjunct
professors. Throughout this time, it has increased tuition and has spent
hundreds of millions on building projects, all the while promulgating the misinformation that enrollment is down.
CCCS auditors (KPMG) reported that the 2008 enrollment was 107,000 with 44,771
FTE. KPMG reported
last month that the 2015 enrollment was 127,000 total, with 53,000 FTE). As of August, 28, 2016, the CCCS website reports a student enrollment of 144,000. CCCS enrollment
continues to rise. We now have approximately 37,000 more students overall
and at least nearly 10,000 more FTE than in 2008. Even so, adjunct faculty are
told routinely each semester by department chairs and administrators that enrollment
is down, that this is why their class loads have been cut and why the CCCS
cannot pay them equitable wages.
Furthermore, the public and
lawmakers are under the impression that the CCCS is barely getting by financially.
Nothing could be further from the truth. In January, 2016, Moody’s gave the CCCS an Aa3 bond rating. This is the 4th
highest bond rating that Moody’s assigns out of 24 rating categories. In regard to the robust health of the
CCCS, the gold-standard credit rating agency concluded: “Moody's
Investors Service has assigned Aa3 underlying and Aa2 enhanced ratings to
Colorado Community College System's (CCCS) Series 2016 Revenue Bonds. The Aa3
underlying rating reflects the large scope of the system's operations,
demonstrated ability to produce positive cash flow through different economic
cycles, and strong liquidity. These characteristics are offset by pressure on
enrollment and revenue growth due to an improving economy and participation in
an underfunded pension plan.” In 2015, the CCCS
produced excess operating cash flows of $30.9 million. This result
builds on the average annual operating cash flows of $32 million from 2012 to
2014. In addition, reserves are very strong, with approximately $300
million of unrestricted reserves at the end of each of the last four
years. Specifically, the primary reserve ratio (reserves divided by total
operating expenses) is over 50%, which is extremely strong for a public
university. The generation of large cash flows and the strong reserves are
the main reasons why the bond rating is so high, and is the key evidence to
conclude that CCCS is in very strong financial condition.
The Financial Statements and Compliance Audits produced under contract to the CCCS by KPMG are useful but
they do not provide the detail needed, especially in terms of salaries and benefits.
One might question, if the system is indeed so financially strapped, why the
CCCS spends millions each year on new building projects and why has it expanded
to 39 campuses across the state. During this time, as well, the 13 CCCS
presidents were awarded salary increases
as high as $90K since 2012,
bringing some of their annual salaries to as high as $209K.
The CCCS System’s president’s salary increased nearly $100K so that her salary is
now double that of Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. She also may be awarded
an annual bonus of 15%
of her salary. Furthermore, one might question why so many college presidents,
some of whom are already paid over $209K per year, qualify for yearly 15% bonuses,
but that, too, is a policy enacted by the CCCS governing board, the State Board of Community Colleges and Occupational
Education (SBCCOE). Also, recently, the last, remaining full-time faculty
(averaging 90 or so per college) were given salary increases of $188/week,
bringing their per-three-credit-hour class pay 2/3 higher than that of the
average adjunct faculty member. Meanwhile, the adjunct professors who teach the
lion’s share of the 29,000+ classes the system offers were given an average
raise of just $4.80/week, bringing their average per-three-credit-hour class
pay to just a bit over $1,834. One also might ask how many vice presidents
Colorado needs in higher education, given that the 13 colleges of the CCCS now
employ 48 of them and their salaries range from $72 to $181K.
This is especially puzzling, given the CCCS untrue claims that enrollments are
down and the system is strapped. Indeed, program prioritization initiatives the
CCCS are promoting are predicated on college systems that are in financial
exigency, and the CCCS, most decidedly, is not.
The Integrated
Post Secondary Data System reports are
useful in making the case for a more equitable distribution of CCCS revenue,
but we need the further detail only a Legislative Audit can provide.
Thank you for your consideration of
this request.
Caprice Lawless
2nd Vice President
American Association of University
Professors
