County legislators got their first look today at the proposed 2013-2014 for Genesee Community College, which asks the county for another $100,000 in local share and includes a $75-per-semester fee increase for full-time students.
While other community colleges in the region are suffering declining enrollment rates of 5 to 8 percent, those trends aren't hitting GCC quite as hard, College President Jim Sunser said.
Next year, the college could even see a slight bump in enrollment, thanks to more programs and students looking for mid-career training.
"Some of that (anticipated increase) has to do with our effort to reach out to the non-traditional population," Sunser said. "We can help them retool their skills. I thnk that's an area where we can look at providing new services and move enrollment."
Examples include a supply chain management and food processing -- programs that were created in response to construction of two big yogurt plants at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park.
The college's veterinarian tech program has also proven to be popular, Sunser said.
GCC is not exempt from the decline of enrollments of high school graduates. Throughout the state, Sunser said, population declines mean fewer high school students, but GCC has done better at attracting those students, Sunser said, because GCC has a solid reputation for preparing students for four-year programs.
The total budget is $38 million, a 2.7-percent increase over this year's budget.
The county share is proposed to jump over $2 million for the first time, with an increase of $100,000, but the share remains at 5.3 percent of the school's total budget.
There was no push back from legislators during today's Ways and Means Committee meeting, where Sunser presented the budget.
Sunser said the college expects to neither lay off employees nor create new positions.
The committee set a public hearing on the budget proposal for 7 p.m., June 12.
