Friday, March 2, 2012

Budget cuts lead to colleges' consolidation - Matthew Stolle, The Post-Bulletin

Several area college presidents say it's too early in the conversation to predict how planned consolidation could reshape their campuses. Four area colleges are discussing money-saving regionalization: RCTC, Riverland Community College, Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical, and South Central College. The college presidents insist there is no mistaking the seriousness of the charge Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system chancellor Steven Rosenstone has given them or the reality their budgets have forced them to face. One possible goal, though not formally adopted by the regional colleges, would be to achieve over time 35 percent savings at the service level. For RCTC, that is roughly $5 million of the school's $40 million budget.