SHORELINE, Wash. (AP) - Facing a nearly $2 million budget shortfall, administrators at Shoreline Community College have begun a program-by-program review to decide which they will cut.
A dental hygiene program, according to its director, is the most expensive on campus, giving some faculty members reason to worry the college will just eliminate it entirely.
The college also recently announced that despite receiving $39.6 million from the state to build a new home for the dental hygiene program, it had removed the program from designs for that building. And it’s scrambling to figure out where to relocate the program once its current classrooms and dental clinic are demolished as scheduled next July.
Even if the program ultimately shutters, the college still must provide instruction for the currently enrolled students. Across Washington, students can find other dental hygiene programs at nine colleges or universities.
The Seattle Times reports the Shoreline program attracts about 120 applicants each year but accepts just 24.
In a campus budget update this month, Shoreline Community College President Cheryl Roberts said every program remains under consideration for cuts. The college also may just trim specific courses, she said.
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