http://ccdaily.com/Pages/Campus-Issues/Enrollments-drop-but-at-slower-rate.aspx
Enrollments at community colleges continue to decline, but at a slower pace, according to a new study on higher education enrollment.
Enrollments at public two-year colleges dropped 2.7 percent from spring 2013 to spring 2014, according to the National Student Clearinghouse(NSC). However, the decrease is less than last year (3.6 percent).
Nationally, enrollment among all postsecondary institutions studied in the report dipped 0.8 percent, with four-year public and four-year private nonprofit institutions seeing an increase of 0.7 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively.
Enrollments of older community college students dropped much more than younger students, though, again at a slower rate than in the previous year. Students age 24 and younger had a 0.5 percent decline in enrollment, while the rate for students over age 24 was 5.9 percent. In spring 2013, the enrollment dip among older students was 6.2 percent.
“With an improving economy, it is not surprising that older adults are choosing to return to the workforce instead of attending postsecondary education themselves and that the families of younger students are in a better position to afford to pay for their children’s education,” surmised Jolanta Juszkiewicz, director of policy analysis at the American Association of Community Colleges.
Trends for women, part-timers
The study also shows that the number of women enrolling at community colleges continues to decline, though, again, at a slower rate — 3.2 percent in spring 2014 compared to 4.5 percent in spring 2013. Among men attending community college, the rate of decrease was 2.1 percent for this spring, compared to 2.4 percent last spring.
NSC data show lower enrollments among part-time students compared to full-time students, 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively.
NSC also provided state enrollment figures, though not by institutional sector. Enrollments among all colleges and universities for spring 2013-2014 covered the gamut, ranging from an 8.4 percent decrease in Iowa, to an increase of 15.5 percent in New Hampshire. Institutions in New York saw a 1.1 percent drop, while California saw its rate decrease 0.3 percent. Florida had no change in its enrollments, while Texas saw a 1.3 percent increase.
I've found, along with some of my other colleagues, that a lot of students are choosing to work more. Some are working 40 plus hours and are also maintaining the unrealistic ideal that they can successfully carry a full load of courses. I wish there were some way that the counselors could discourage or rather, re-emphasize that coming to college is like holding down a second job. Perhaps then, the students, specifically the younger ones who are usually coming right out of high school, would gain a more realistic sense of what it takes to maintain a sensible academic load while working. In turn, we might see our rates of academic retention and graduation increase, not to mention an upswing in enrollment. Thanks for the information.
ReplyDeleteAmen Marva! I also wish students were more realistic about what they could handle but they just don't know what it takes to succeed in college when they have no reference. I will say that most of the counselors and advisors I know show students how many hours we recommend they take based on the number of hours they're working per week. They don't want to listen. The main reason they tell me is that they want to get the full Pell Grant allowed and can only get it by taking at least 12 credit hours. As in many situations, it's about finances.
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