COD thrives in midst of severe economy
Despite a challenging economy, College of DuPage, the second largest provider of higher education in Illinois, was found to be in sterling fiscal shape in its annual audit report. The COD Board of Trustees was informed at its meeting Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011 that the College received an unqualified or “clean” opinion in its fiscal year 2011 annual financial audit from external auditing company Crowe Horwath. In addition, no management letter was issued.
“College of DuPage's reliability and fiscal stewardship is unmatched,” said COD Board Chairman David Carlin. “The consequence, despite a challenging economy, is that College of DuPage is driving forward on multiple fronts – cutting edge academic programs and amazing new teaching and learning facilities – when other institutions are cutting back and worrying whether state funding will arrive in time to meet their financial obligations.”
The Associated Press reported this week that the state of Illinois now owes more than half a billion dollars to its universities. COD leadership predicted state funding challenges more than two years ago and has conservatively based the College's budget on receiving just one third of owed state payments while building reserves of at least 50 percent of its operating budget.
Recent examples of the College's exceptional financial position include:
Under COD President Robert L. Breuder, the institution's unrestricted reserves have grown from 30.9 percent of the operating budget in FY2008 to 61.8 percent for FY2011, which equates to $101 million.
College of DuPage received reaffirmation of the coveted Triple-A (Aaa/AAA) bond ratings from Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's, the highest ratings possible. These bond ratings allow the College to save the taxpayers millions of dollars by allowing for the lowest interest rates possible when borrowing for construction.
COD has increased total credit hours taught by almost 77,000 since FY2009.
The College has added 33 new degree and certificate programs in the past two years.
In November 2010, taxpayers showed their confidence in College of DuPage by approving a $168 million referendum to support the College's Facilities Master Plan during a particularly hard election cycle. This was the second largest referendum passed in the country in November of 2010.
COD has just opened new buildings on its campus totaling almost 300,000 square feet: the Homeland Security Education Center, the Culinary & Hospitality Center, the Student Services Center, and the west side of the Berg Instructional Center. The Culinary & Hospitality Center is country's first culinary learning facility built to the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED standards and is expected, along with the other energy efficient buildings, to generate significant utility savings.
Unrestricted net assets increased almost $25 million in FY2011 from the previous year as a result of strong financial measures implemented by College management during the year.
The College recently took advantage of a favorable interest rate environment to refund certain portions of prior bond issues to save District 502 taxpayers approximately $970,000.
College of DuPage leadership recently presented its financial position and strategic planning efforts at the annual Association of Community College Trustees Leadership Congress in Dallas, Texas.
“We were the envy of other community colleges,” said COD Trustee Dianne McGuire. “The fiscal strength we have built has positioned us to serve this community on a world class level, almost regardless of external factors.”
College of DuPage President Robert L. Breuder said, “We understand our fiscal responsibilities and have ensured that we operate in the same manner our taxpayers would run their own homes. We do not spend more than we take in, we set aside savings for unexpected emergencies and opportunities, and we have shown resourcefulness and commitment to meeting challenges head-on. We hope the clean audit affirmation of our bond rating and these impressive financial results evidence our good fiscal stewardship of the resources provided by our taxpayers and students.”
Visit http://home.cod.edu/generalInfo/financial_documents.aspx to read the College's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.