National Park College (NPC) Board of Trustees held their regular monthly meeting Wednesday, May 26 where they approved the 2021-2022 annual budget.
Vice President for Administration, Kelli Embry presented the proposed budget. Embry said the College remains fiscally conservative while continuing to innovate and invest in student success initiatives. She commended the finance team and expressed appreciation to the campus budget managers for centering requests on initiatives that would enhance classroom and campus experiences for students while adhering to conservative budgeting practices.
NPC’s tuition rate and mandatory fees will remain flat for the year.
Embry said the team outlined broad areas of focus for next year’s budget that directly align with the 2020-2023 strategic plan priorities and goals. “Those areas directly point back to fulfilling our student success mission.”
The College will invest in personnel and programs that increase the long term safety and security of our campus while implementing practices that keep students and employees healthy. “While we anticipate that the campus will return to normal operations in the fall, we must plan for contingencies to put our students in the best position to persist and complete their education,” noted Embry.
NPC will make a significant investment in its academic enterprise over the next three years. This will include investments in the University Center to establish additional four-year degrees, pursue additional strategic partnerships to offer four-year degrees; promote the availability of degrees; provide a physical space for the Center; fill faculty vacancies; and add faculty to support four-year degree programs.
The College plans to conduct a comprehensive study of existing facilities and explore the future needs that support student success. Some of the potential projects for the future could include additional on-campus housing, a new welding facility, and an academic commons that would encompass library functions, additional classrooms, and study centers.
Student services processes will also be a priority in this year’s budget, including implementing a customer relationship management system to improve the student’s communication experience from the first engagement to graduation. Investments will also be made to expand NJCAA athletic programs, campus intramurals, and club activities.
The College will investigate infrastructure and facilities needs for workforce training to foster integration of programming between credit, non-credit, and high school technical programs, and will fully implement the new makerspace and expand apprenticeship programs.
NPC will continue to be intentional about promoting and demonstrating diverse practices to ensure a welcoming climate for all. This will include employing a diversity coordinator that will champion community relations and outreach efforts. “Doing this will allow us to further focus efforts on recruiting diverse employees and develop supportive programs that encourage persistence and completion of diverse students,” said Embry.
NPC President, John Hogan said, “We continue to be aggressive in our planning to meet the ongoing needs of our students. They expect more, and we need to answer that expectation. Our strength has been in listening to our students. They have more to say, so there is more for us to do. I appreciate our campus' collective ear in this process.”
