A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
Speeches and Testimony
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Statement by
Robert R. Davila
Vice President
National Technical Institute for the Deaf
Rochester Institute of Technology
Before the
U.S. House of Representatives
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education
On the
Fiscal Year 2000 Budget Request
for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf
March 11, 1999
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am pleased to present the President's fiscal year 2000 budget request for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), one of seven colleges of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), provides a continuum of learning and living options for 1,170 students who are deaf and hard of hearing on a campus of approximately 13,000 students. NTID was created by Congress to provide postsecondary technical education for the Nation's youth who are deaf to prepare them for successful employment in the economic mainstream of America. I believe NTID has fulfilled this mandate with distinction and extremely positive results for the past 31 years.
We support the President's fiscal year 2000 request of $47,925,000 for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The specifics of the fiscal year 2000 request are as follows.
BUDGET REQUEST
The fiscal year 2000 request includes $45,024,000 for operations, $250,000 for the Federal Matching Endowment Program and $2,651,000 in construction funds to cover the cost of phase one of the planned two-phase dormitory renovation project expected to cost a total of $13,568,000. We are extremely pleased that the Department has requested funds for the first phase of this project. RIT is in the process of upgrading all of its dormitories, including dormitories serving NTID students. Most of the dormitories on the campus are 20 to 30 years old and are in need of extensive modernizing and refurbishing.
Funds received by NTID for tuition, room and board, and fees are expected to generate $200,000 in additional income in 2000 above the total expected in 1999 due to a decision NTID has made to increase tuition charges by 4 percent for the next academic year. This increase in tuition will be the first since fiscal year 1997. Room, board, and fees will increase, but only to cover increased costs. We estimate that the Federal appropriation for NTID will constitute approximately 81 percent of total funding in 2000.
STRATEGIC PLAN
In 1990, NTID undertook a strategic planning process to create a vision and plan of action to carry it into the 21st century. The strategic plan is a blueprint for NTID's future. It focused our available resources on students, called for a complete reorganization of the institution, and prescribed a comprehensive and coordinated assessment and revitalization of NTID's academic programs and curriculum.
We stand before this committee as a fiscally healthy and vibrant academic institution. We are well positioned for the year 2000 and beyond. We can do this in the face of major change and limited resources because we anticipated the current fiscal climate and initiated significant reductions in a measured way, while preserving our academic mission. Since 1993, we have reduced the number of administrative units from 13 to 6, eliminated 7 academic programs that were least marketable and cost effective and downsized our employee base by 117 positions, or nearly 20 percent of the workforce for a total savings of over $6 million. Much of the monies saved from these activities went to balance our budget, while the rest were reinvested in strategic plan initiatives.
In 1998, we conducted a comprehensive review of our Strategic Plan and recommitted ourselves to four critical objectives:
- NTID will establish and market an enhanced national identity that accentuates its comparative advantages, including the diversity of its student body, the range of its program offerings and its varied educational settings, the opportunities it provides for personal and social growth, its focus on technical and professional career education, and the good jobs attained by its graduates.
- NTID will recommit to establishing flexible "cutting edge" career education curricula and viable new technical programs. These programs should represent unique, "best in field" career opportunities that we believe will lead to success for NTID students in the global economic community.
- NTID, in collaboration with other RIT colleges and units, will provide leadership to ensure optimal access for deaf and hard-of-hearing students throughout the educational community. Tremendous progress has been made to make the entire university fully accessible to students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. We wish to continue with this progress so that NTID students can maximize their educational potential.
- NTID will continue to implement effective strategies for "college success" support systems in order to support and retain a diverse student body. While NTID presently enjoys one of the highest graduation rates among programs serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students, we are committed to doing even better by implementing effective retention strategies. One other particular area of emphasis will be the acquisition of English language skills. These skills are important for student success both while at NTID/RIT and later on in their future careers. We plan to accomplish this through an infusion of new strategies throughout the college curriculum.
ENROLLMENT
The number of new students entering NTID during school year 1997-98 was 459, compared to 419 last year. The total included 395 deaf and hard-of-hearing freshmen and transfers, 19 first-year graduate students (10 of whom are deaf or hard-of-hearing) in the Master of Science in Secondary Education (MSSE) program and 45 first-year hearing students in the Educational Interpreting program. Total enrollment increased from 1,185 to 1,278, which is the highest number of students at NTID since 1987. For the fall of 1999 (fiscal year 2000), NTID is on schedule to admit approximately 425-450 new students which will maintain enrollment at approximately 1,100-1,125 students who are deaf, 90-100 interpreter training program students, and 30-35 MSSE students. STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Over the past 29 years, nearly 95 percent of NTID's 4,000 graduates have been successfully placed in jobs commensurate with their training. Seventy-three percent are employed in business and industry. Research conducted by NTID with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration shows that our deaf graduates with bachelor degrees earn 80 to 90 percent of what their hearing peers earn. National statistics indicate that employed persons with disabilities earn only 70% of what their non-disabled peers earn. In addition, a deaf NTID/RIT graduate with a bachelor's degree, in his or her lifetime, will pay back over three times the cost of his or her education to the Federal Treasury in taxes alone. CAREER DEVELOPMENT
NTID has maintained a balanced array of services that are responsive to the needs of students who come from various educational settings-public high schools, as well as center/residential schools and day programs for individuals who are deaf. NTID's success is due to its student-centered and outcome-oriented curricula, programs, and services that lead students to successful careers.
A student who has the abilities and desire can enroll through NTID in baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree programs with hearing peers in the other colleges of RIT. Last year, approximately 40 percent of our students were cross-registered or fully matriculated in the other colleges of RIT. Regardless of field or level of study, NTID maintains responsibility for supporting all deaf students. Last year, deaf students received 82,000 hours of interpreting, 42,000 hours of notetaking, and 19,000 hours of tutoring, as well as counseling, advising, and other professional services. Because some students function more successfully in classes that are wholly comprised of their peers who are deaf, a number of degree programs are available through the college of NTID. Students in associate of applied science programs at NTID complete their liberal arts requirements in the RIT College of Liberal Arts and their physical education requirements in RIT's Physical Education Department. In total, nearly 700 of NTID's 1,170 deaf students have ongoing interactions with hearing peers through formal coursework and activities in the other colleges of RIT.
In addition to the various learning environments that provide for students' intellectual development, there are a variety of living options that provide opportunities for deaf students to live on dormitory floors comprised predominately of their deaf peers, on floors comprised predominately of their hearing peers, or on floors where there are equitable number of deaf and hearing peers. These living arrangements provide students the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills in an environment that expands their personal development. Thus, the learning and living environments at RIT and NTID foster well-rounded graduates who are well prepared to live and work in the mainstream of society.
RESEARCH
Studies performed through NTID's efforts benefit NTID's students as well as deaf adults throughout the country. The research program and agenda are guided and organized according to five general research foci: economic and occupational assimilation; academic and technical skills; communication skills; effective instruction; and institutional planning, evaluation, and change. We recently submitted a detailed annual report on NTID research to the Department of Education, and a copy is being provided to the Committee for its file. OUTREACH
NTID's educational outreach efforts will continue in accordance with the Institute's mission and strategic plan. These efforts are designed to address the needs of alumni and other deaf adults, professionals working with deaf students in academic settings, employers, vocational rehabilitation personnel, deaf secondary school students, and parents of deaf children. We are reaching out to these audiences with programs such as Explore Your Future, a career sampling program for high school juniors who are deaf. Last year, 198 students participated in this program. In addition, a Summer Institute for deaf alumni and other deaf adults addresses topics such as computer skills, small business opportunities, and networking for career mobility and enhancement. Workshops and training sessions also were offered to 547 employer representatives and school personnel last year. Through these and a variety of other outreach efforts, we work to expand opportunities for people who are deaf.
ENDOWMENT GRANT
A $250,000 increase is requested for the Federal Endowment Grant program. The Education of the Deaf Act authorizes the use of appropriated funds as a match for private funds raised by the Institute, and the Department's request provides NTID with the flexibility to use current-year program funds for its endowment grant program. This increase would supplement funds that are otherwise available. The endowment matching fund was established as an incentive to help NTID raise private funds and to reduce NTID's dependence on Federal appropriations. NTID recently completed in its first major capital campaign, which attracted $10 million to support its endowment, the acquisition of technology, and instructional, outreach and research projects. We have placed a priority on developing ongoing revenue streams to supplement NTID's operating budget. The current market value of NTID's total endowment stands at over $18 million. CONSTRUCTION
NTID plans to commence construction on a major dormitory renovation project in 2000, in keeping with RIT's plans to renovate all of the dormitories on its campus. The request includes $2.651 million for the first phase of a two-phase project costing a total of $13.568 million. The scope of the architectural improvements includes residential room improvements, public area improvements, and exterior renovation work. The renovations would satisfy code and life safety requirements, remedy problems which developed due to years of deferred maintenance, and improve facilities so the NTID dormitories will be on a par with other dormitories on campus.
The $13.568 million total cost figure includes $650,000 requested and received in 1999 for costs associated with developing detailed architectural, engineering, and interior design plans and detailed construction layout for the project. The figure also includes $700,000 for data cabling and $218,000 for a roof replacement that has already been completed and paid for with funds from prior year operations.
SUMMARY
The 2000 request will allow NTID to continue its mission of preparing deaf people to enter the workplace and society and compete on equal terms with their hearing peers. In the Institute's brief history, our alumni have demonstrated that they can be fully independent and contributing members of society and that they can experience an exceptional quality of life as a result of the postsecondary education we provide. Collaborative research between NTID and the Social Security Administration shows that, in comparison to students who do not complete a degree, NTID graduates over their lifetimes are employed at a much higher rate, earn substantially more, pay significantly more in taxes, and participate at a much lower rate in Federal transfer programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). Even when SSI and SSDI payments and the time-value of money are taken into consideration, NTID graduates more than pay back the cost of their education.
Mr. Chairman, my colleague and I will be pleased to respond to your questions.
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