Legislature removes disincentive for community colleges' online classes

SHERIDAN — Distance education and in-person classes will soon be treated equally when it comes to how the state reimburses community colleges for the courses it offers.

The legislation was among the first slate of bills signed by Gov. Mark Gordon during the current session of the Wyoming Legislature.

“This bill removes any financial consequence for our community colleges offering courses via a certain modality,” Northern Wyoming Community College District President Walt Tribley said. “It is absolutely the right thing to do philosophically. In this day and age, the need for classes to be offered in person and via distance is necessary, especially in our very rural state. 

“As far as what the change means to Sheridan College, that remains to be seen,” Tribley added.

Courses taught by community colleges are currently sorted into various levels based on content, class size and cost of delivery. Level one courses are primarily lecture courses; level two classes are lecture courses that often include labs — such as biology or geology; and level three courses are those with smaller class sizes but higher costs, such as welding or health care courses. 

When it comes to the funding model used for community colleges by the state, those levels of classes were weighted when determining reimbursement — level one courses served as the baseline, with level two courses receiving 1.25 the weight of a level one course and level three courses receiving a weight of 1.5. Distance education courses, though, were weighted at 0.8.

Sandy Caldwell, executive director of the Wyoming Community College Commission, told legislators throughout hearings on the bill in January and February that distance education students must receive the same resources and support available to in-person students and therefore the cost of delivering distance education courses rarely proved less expensive than in-person classes and sometimes are more expensive for colleges to offer.

Under the legislation signed by Gordon this week, online courses will be treated the same as in-person courses when it comes to how they are reimbursed.

“Basically, each course will be supported in our funding formula based on the content of the course, not by the modality through which it is being offered,” Tribley said. 

While Caldwell said she was not aware of any community colleges that stopped teaching certain classes via distance learning due to the cost, the lesser weight for such courses in reimbursement disincentivizes colleges to offer distance education classes.

“Students continue to need distance education — especially adult learners — so colleges offer it because they know it’s the right thing to do,” Caldwell said.

But, legislators noted, that may not have always been the case had the prior system remained in place.

“If we do not change and we do not allow this bill to pass, you’re going to see a reduction in the services that are offered by your community colleges and the workforce that we’re trying to develop in this state,” Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, said during testimony in the House Jan. 13. “You’re going to see a reduction in that workforce not being able to be educated to the standards they want to be educated to.”

Brown also pointed out colleges have been forced to handle declining budgets due to cuts implemented over the last six years, so classes reimbursed at less than the level one courses could have been on the chopping block.

While representatives in the House expressed concern regarding the cost of the change, Caldwell said in the Senate Education Committee meeting Feb. 6 the change will have no immediate impact to total dollars distributed to the community colleges by the state.

“It does divide the pie differently,” Caldwell said. 

Part of the funding model for community colleges — which has many facets — centers around how many and what kinds of courses are taught. The legislative change could shift how much of the total state allocation each college receives based on the weight of the classes offered.

It could also impact the funding for community colleges during recalibration, which is done every four years, but Caldwell said the legislation would not change total funding for this biennium or the next.

She also noted enrollment numbers have a much more significant impact on the recalibration process. 

“The total impact of this change based on the enrollment profile right now, is — over an entire biennium, systemwide — I believe it was $400,000,” Caldwell said in the Senate Education Committee hearing Feb. 6. 

In comparison, she noted, declining enrollment would have resulted in $4 million in cuts during the last round of recalibration.

While during the legislative hearings on the bill Caldwell and others indicated much more work needs to be done regarding the funding of community colleges in the state, this small step helps colleges continue offering and growing their distance education programs.

“Many students rely on supportive online education to earn a credential for higher paying jobs,” said Sara DiRienzo, executive director of the Wyoming Economic Development Association. “Its flexibility — especially for those already working full-time jobs — is key.”