LCC may have to turn away students: Budget cuts mandated by the governor could force an enrollment cap - Greg Bolt, The Register-Guard

Lane Community College will have to pare $2.6 million from next year’s budget to meet the governor’s order for across-the-board spending cuts, a move that raises the possibility that LCC may opt to cap enrollment, a sharp departure from its longstanding policy of accepting all applicants. LCC President Mary Spilde said college managers still are working on a plan to trim the budget and expect to present options to the LCC board in July. But however the cuts are made, she said the bottom line is that the college will have little room to maneuver, especially if enrollment rises more than expected. “If we end up getting more students than we planned, we have no flexibility now to add classes or accommodate those students,” Spilde said. “So it’s quite feasible that this year we’re going to be saying ‘no’ to students.”