El Paso Community College (EPCC)
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November 19, 1999 The Honorable George W. Bush The Honorable Rick Perry The Honorable James E. "Pete" Laney Members of the 76th Texas Legislature Ladies and Gentlemen: I am pleased to present our Texas School Performance Review of the El Paso Community College (EPCC). This review, requested by State Senator Eliot Shapleigh and EPCC President Bill Campion, is intended to help EPCC hold the line on costs, streamline operations, and improve services to ensure that every possible tax dollar is spent on improving educational opportunities at the college. To aid in this task, the Comptroller's office contracted with McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy LLP, a Houston-based consulting firm. We have made a number of recommendations to improve EPCC's efficiency, but we also found a number of "best practices" at the college. This report highlights model programs and services provided by EPCC's administrators, faculty, and staff. This report outlines 115 detailed recommendations that could save EPCC more than $15.5 million over the next five years, while reinvesting more than $2.8 million to improve educational services and other operations. Net savings are estimated to reach more than $12.7 million--savings that EPCC can redirect to serving the employment needs of the greater El Paso area. We are grateful for the cooperation of EPCC's administrators and employees, and we commend them and the community for their dedication to improving the educational opportunities offered to the residents of El Paso. Sincerely, Carole Keeton Rylander Comptroller of Public Accounts EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Executive Summary is divided into the following two parts: Part I - Improving TSPR, TSPR in EPCC, Acknowledgments, Exemplary Programs Part II - Summary of Costs and Savings by Recommendation PART I - IMPROVING TSPR, TSPR IN EPCC, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, EXEMPLARY PROGRAMS, ETC. At the request of State Senator Eliot Shapleigh (a member of the Texas Legislature) and the college, the Comptroller's office began a performance review of the El Paso Community College District (EPCC) in June 1999. The review marked the first time that the agency had conducted a school performance review of a community college district. After more than five months of work, this report identifies exemplary programs in EPCC and suggests concrete ways to improve district operations. If fully implemented, the Comptroller's 115 recommendations could produce net savings of more than $12.7 million over the next five years-savings that could be focused on improving education in the college classroom. Improving the Texas School Performance Review Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander, who took office in January 1999, has consulted school district officials, parents, and teachers from across Texas and carefully examined past reviews and progress reports in an effort to make the Texas School Performance Review (TSPR) more valuable, even vital, to the state's more than 1,000 school districts. With the perspective of a former teacher and a former school board president, the Comptroller has vowed to steer TSPR to increased accountability to local school districts and the communities they represent. Comptroller Rylander began by establishing new criteria for selecting school districts for future reviews. The agency will give priority to districts that are judged poor performing academically or financially, and to hands-on reviews that will benefit the greatest number of students. These are the school districts and children that need help the most. Recognizing that only about 52 cents of every education dollar is spent on instruction, Comptroller Rylander emphasizes an approach that will give local school officials the ability to move more of every education dollar into the classroom. In addition, no longer will TSPR reports bury school districts' best practices and exemplary programs. Instead, Comptroller Rylander has ordered best practices and exemplary programs to be shared quickly and systematically among all the state's school districts and with anyone who requests such information. There is no reason for a district that has solved a problem to keep the solution to itself. Comptroller Rylander has directed TSPR to serve as an active clearinghouse of the best and brightest ideas in Texas public education. Under Comptroller Rylander's approach, consultants and the TSPR team works with districts to: · ensure students and teachers receive the support and resources necessary to succeed; · identify innovative ways to address core management challenges; · ensure administrative duties are performed efficiently, without duplication, and in a way that fosters education; · develop strategies to ensure that the district's processes and programs are continuously assessed and improved; · understand the link between the district's functions and determine ways to provide a seamless system of services; · challenge any process, procedure, program, or policy that impedes instruction and recommend ways to reduce or eliminate obstacles; and · put goods and services to the "Yellow Pages test" - government should do no job if there is a business in the Yellow Pages that can do that job better and at a lower cost. Finally, Comptroller Rylander has opened her door to Texans who share her optimism about the potential for public education. Suggestions to improve our schools or the school reviews are welcome at any time. The Comptroller believes that public schools deserve all the attention and assistance they can possibly get. For more information, contact TSPR by calling toll-free at 1-800-531- 5441, extension 5-0332, or see the Comptroller's website at www.window.state.tx.us. TSPR in EPCC TSPR went to El Paso Community College in response to a local call for assistance from State Senator Eliot Shapleigh and EPCC President William Campion. Having completed successful reviews of the El Paso, Ysleta and Socorro Independent School Districts in the El Paso area, TSPR was viewed as a vehicle for recommending structural changes to educational institutions that could result in improvements. With the help of McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy LLP, a Houston- based consulting firm, the TSPR team devised a multi-faceted approach to identify the major issues in the district. The approach involved interviewing key stakeholders, holding community forums, conducting focus groups of interested parties, soliciting comments from the general public, conducting written and telephone surveys inside and outside the institution, analyzing key financial and educational data provided by the district, comparing district operations to similar institutions, and consulting the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other higher educational authorities. The team interviewed college staff and instructors, students, district board members, business leaders, and community members. TSPR also held community meetings at five EPCC campus sites. Participants were invited to write their observations on major topics of concern or to be interviewed. To obtain additional comments, the review team conducted focus group sessions with students, college staff, business leaders and members of the community. The team also collected comments from letters to the Comptroller and telephone calls to the Comptroller's toll-free hotline. TSPR sent surveys to a sample of district personnel and conducted a telephone survey of the community. Both surveys asked respondents to comment on their satisfaction with district operations. TSPR also contacted the Texas state agency that oversees community colleges in Texas, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), for information on community colleges in general and on EPCC specifically. THECB provided data on the responsibilities of community colleges and data on the information required from community colleges. For the review, TSPR asked EPCC to select peer community colleges for comparative purposes based on similarities in student enrollment, budget, and other factors. The peers selected were the following community college districts: Alamo, Austin, North Harris Montgomery County, San Jacinto and Tarrant County. TSPR compared the community college districts to each other in several areas (Exhibit 1). Exhibit 1 Enrollment, Gender, and Ethnicity Percent El Paso Community College vs Peers 1998 Credit Gender Ethnicity College Head-Count M F White Black Hispanic Other Alamo 47,824 41% 59% 33% 8% 56% 3% Tarrant 40,145 43% 57% 72% 11% 10% 6% Austin 30,891 46% 54% 65% 7% 20% 7% North Harris 27,046 39% 61% 75% 10% 13% 6% El Paso 22,390 39% 61% 14% 3% 82% 1% San Jacinto 18,263 44% 56% 60% 3% 25% 5% Source: THECB, 1999 Annual Data Profile. Acknowledgments The Comptroller and McConnell, Jones, Lanier & Murphy LLP would like to express appreciation to the EPCC Board of Trustees, President Bill Campion, and the EPCC employees, students, and concerned residents who provided essential information during this review. Special thanks are due to Dr. Dennis Brown, who as EPCC liaison arranged office space, equipment, and meeting rooms and otherwise accommodated the review team's needs. Community Colleges in Texas Community colleges play a vital role in Texas by providing educational services beyond public school. In the fall of 1998, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board estimated community college enrollment at almost 407,000. Enrollment in community colleges surpasses enrollment in all public senior colleges in Texas (398,000). Community colleges provide a variety of offerings including technical and vocational programs, freshman