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 House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education
on the
Fiscal Year 1999 Budget Request
for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf

March 26, 1998

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

I am pleased to present the President's fiscal year 1999 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 1,085 students who are deaf 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.

NTID also conducts research into educational achievement, cognition, communication, personal/social interaction, and economic and employment issues related to people who are deaf and trains professionals to serve the Nation's deaf population. We support the President's fiscal year 1999 request for the National Technical Institute for the Deaf of $44,791,000. The specifics of the fiscal year 1999 request are as follows.

BUDGET REQUEST

The fiscal year 1999 request includes $44,141,000 for operations, which is the same amount as the total fiscal year 1998 appropriation. In addition, $650,000 is included to cover the cost of a detailed design for a planned dormitory renovation project.

We are extremely pleased that the Department has provided these funds, as RIT is in the process of upgrading all of its dormitories. Most of the dormitories on the campus are 20 to 30 years old, and NTID's dormitories are no exception. We are currently estimating the total construction cost to be approximately $11.5 million, spread over a three-year period commencing with fiscal year 2000.

Funds received by NTID for tuition, room and board, and fees are not expected to generate additional income in 1999 above the total expected in 1998 due to a decision NTID has made not to increase tuition charges for the next academic year. Room, board and fees will increase, but only to cover increased costs. We estimate that the Federal Appropriation for NTID will constitute approximately 80 percent of total funding in 1999.

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. We wanted to ensure that we allocated our resources to the areas of greatest need in the most efficient and effective way. Given the many changes occurring in the work place, we felt the time had come for a comprehensive review of our academic enterprise. 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 promised the Department and Congress that we would implement our strategic plan at no extra cost to the taxpayers through reallocation of existing resources, and we are pleased to report that we have been able to do so.

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 was reinvested in our strategic plan. A summary of the most significant strategic initiatives that have been, or will be, implemented by the end of FY1998 follows:

We have accomplished the goals set by our strategic plan, and are doing so with 20 percent fewer employees. This Committee publicly complimented NTID on its actions to control costs in report language accompanying the 1996 Appropriations Bill. I hope our more recent efforts continue to give the Committee confidence in our stewardship of NTID.

ENROLLMENT

New admissions of deaf students for the fall of 1997 (fiscal year 1998) totaled 366, approximately the same number as in fiscal year 1997, but 18 percent higher than in 1995. It has resulted in the total enrollment of deaf students remaining the same as last year. In addition, NTID enrolled 84 students in its educational interpreter training program and 16 students in its master of science in secondary education (MSSE) program for the fall of 1997. For the fall of 1998 (fiscal year 1999), NTID is on schedule to admit approximately 375 new deaf students, which will increase enrollment to approximately 1,100 students, while enrollment in the educational interpreter program and the MSSE is expected to grow to 100 and 25 respectively.

STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Over the past 28 years, nearly 95 percent of NTID's 3,850 graduates have been successfully placed in jobs commensurate with their training. Seventy-one percent are employed in business and industry. Research conducted by NTID and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that our deaf graduates with bachelor degrees earn 93 percent of what their hearing peers earn. National statistics indicate that disabled workers earn only 70% of what their non-disabled peers in general 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 residential schools and day programs for individuals who are deaf. Student-centered and outcome-oriented curricula, programs, and services that lead students to successful careers are the rule at NTID.

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 39 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 81,000 hours of interpreting, 42,000 hours of note taking, and 15,000 hours of tutoring, as well as counseling, advising, and other professional services. For students with other talents and interests, there are associate degrees and diplomas offered at NTID in classes that are wholly comprised of their peers who are deaf. Associate of applied science students complete their liberal arts requirements in the RIT College of Liberal Arts and their physical education requirements are met through RIT's Physical Education Department, in courses with both deaf and hearing students. In total, nearly 700 of NTID's 1,085 deaf students have ongoing contact with hearing peers through course work and other 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.

OUTREACH

NTID's educational outreach efforts will continue in accordance with the Institute's mission and strategic plan. They 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, 225 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 over 380 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

No specific amount is requested for this program. However, the Budget Request gives us the flexibility to set aside operational dollars that could be used to match privately raised funds. The endowment matching fund was established as an inducement to help NTID raise private funds and to reduce NTID's dependence on Federal Appropriations. NTID is engaged in its first major capital campaign, which seeks to attract $10 million to support its endowment, the acquisition of technology, instruction, outreach, and research projects. Our priority is to develop ongoing revenue streams to supplement NTID's operating budget. Commitments totaling $9 million have been received to date. The campaign will not only attract funds for current institution needs, but build relationships that will support future fund raising efforts by the college. The current market value of NTID's total endowment stands at over $14 million.

SUMMARY

The 1999 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 Internal Revenue Service indicates that, on average, NTID graduates pay back the cost of their education in 10 to 13 years, and have lifetime earnings that are two to three times greater than deaf people without a college degree. Initial analysis of recent collaborative work with the Statistics and Research Division of the Social Security Administration indicates that education significantly reduces the percentage of individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income.

Mr. Chairman, my colleague and I will be pleased to respond to your questions.

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Last Updated -- March, 25 1998, (mjj)