EDITORIAL: WCC Graduation Rate
“COUNTY TAXPAYERS PAY $345 per $100,000 in taxable home value to support Washtenaw Community College. In 2012-2013, county taxpayers paid $45.9 million to WCC officials. In return the two-year college’s President Bellanca graduated just five percent of enrolled students in two years and 15 percent of students in three years. The average cost to students who did graduate with a degree from WCC was $31,704. At Alpena Community College 30.4 percent of students graduate at a cost of $36,371 per degree completion.
Dr. Bellanca is embroiled in a tug-of-war with the college’s unionized faculty over communication, governance, institutional transparency and accountability. The college’s student newspaper recently published a piece which alleged that WCC officials intend to impose restrictions on editorial independence (allegations WCC officials denied to a student reporter). Faculty allege Dr. Bellanca has allowed crucial administrative positions to remained unfilled.
Amid it all, enrollment is down and the cost of tuition is up. We believe the mission of WCC is the educate the county’s students who choose to enroll, but also to graduate those who enroll and to provide a two-year education economically for both property tax payers and students.
Under Dr. Bellanca’s leadership, county property tax payers give over $3,800 per student enrolled (12,000), but that cost jumps to $25,500 per degree completion (1,800). At Alpena Community College the cost to property tax payers per degree completion (597) is $4,340 and the cost to county property tax payers per student enrolled (1,991) is $1,301.
Dr. Bellanca’s institution is providing Washtenaw County property tax payers with a poor return on their collective annual $40-$50 million investment in property tax dollars. Further, she is doing so at a cost per degree completion that is far and above that paid by property tax payers in Michigan counties where their two-year colleges graduate 25-35 percent of students who enroll.
While faculty and administrators are often at odds over governance and institutional transparency, Dr. Bellanca’s three year tenure has been marred by a lack of communication and an atmosphere of fear and mistrust on the part of faculty who say they fear retaliation when voicing concerns. The school’s student journalists who produce The Washtenaw Voice have done a credible job of covering the conflicts that have arisen between Dr. Bellanca and her faculty.
County taxpayers and WCC students deserve a community college whose leaders and faculty work together to produce two-year student degree completion rates that exceed five percent. Dr. Bellanca’s job is not easy. Ann Arbor sends over 90 percent of high school graduates to college, but only half of them are judged college ready by the state. That readiness rate is significantly lower in other school districts throughout the county. Be that as it may, we believe the WCC Board must hold Dr. Bellanca to much higher standards with respect to student completion rates and spending.