FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Dr. Eric J. Smith
Commissioner of Education
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Chairman
Members
Dr. Willis N. Holcombe, Chancellor
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
Division of Community Colleges
DR. AKSHAY DESAI
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
LINDA K. TAYLOR
Memorandum Number 08-05
March 12, 2008
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
Community College Presidents
FROM:
Dr. Willis N. Holcombe, Chancellor
SUBJECT:
Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent (CO-FTE) Enrollment
To assist the Florida Department of Education to reach its goal of
Quality Efficient Services
, it is
important for the Community College System to report accurate Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent
(CO-FTE) enrollment. The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you of upcoming changes to the
reporting of CO-FTE enrollment relative to the instructional site associated with the FTE.
Background
Capital Outlay Full-Time Equivalent (CO-FTE) enrollment is used to calculate facilities space needs.
Historically, CO-FTE has been calculated as the total FTE less the FTE identified as “Site 99” for a
course taught off site that would not require the college or the state to provide capital outlay for
permanent facilities. Site 99 was originally intended for use for courses taught at another institution (such
as a high school or hospital). As distance learning courses began, many of the colleges used Site 99 as the
site identifier, based on the assumption that distance learning courses did not impact the need to provide
additional permanent facilities. However, all students, including distance learning students, still require
administrative, faculty, staff and infrastructure support.
The Issue
As colleges are responsible for their own reporting, the reporting of FTE numbers for Site 99 has differed
from college to college, with some colleges reporting their increasing enrollment for distance learning
students under Site 99 while other colleges reported it as zero. This discrepancy impacted the amount of
FTE calculated for capital outlay purposes and was questioned by several colleges. In looking to resolve
this issue and upon further study and discussion, we learned there was no differentiation between a
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Memorandum Number 08-05
Page Two
March 12, 2008
distance learning student and an on-campus student at the university level in determining capital outlay
needs.
The Authority to Change
This issue was brought to the attention of the Florida Community Colleges’ Council of Presidents at their
meeting on August 14, 2007. After presentation and discussion of the information mentioned above, the
Council of Presidents voted to abolish Site 99 for FTE purposes with the intention that all FTE be
attributable to a specific site for support purposes. As Chancellor of the Division of Community
Colleges, I am in agreement with the action of the Council of Presidents.
Action Required
FTE for Site 99 is currently identified in Student Data Base reports under Course Section Location –
Campus (DE 3013). The Community College and Technical Center Management Information Systems
(CCTCMIS) presented proposed changes to the Management Information Systems Advisory Task Force
(MISATFOR) last month. Any changes in the Student Data Base reporting system will not go into effect
until the 2008-2009 reporting year. Therefore, in order to correctly show CO-FTE for educational plant
surveys that are due in 2008-2009, colleges
must
assign all Site 99 FTE to another site when the CO-FTE
projections are done in May.
WNH/lcc
c:
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Community College Business Officers
Community College Reports Coordinators
Community College Facilities Directors/Planners
Community College Chief Information Officers
