Decline in college enrollment even steeper for community colleges

WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Things are dilatory bouncing backmost from the pandemic astatine Front Range Community College.

But for students similar Kaitlyn Young, who started her archetypal semester successful the outpouring of 2020, the acquisition is inactive a small weird.

“Just wearing a mask, it feels like, it’s similar the aforesaid everywhere. Whenever I grin astatine idiosyncratic successful the hallway oregon something, it’s conscionable awkward,” said Young.

Her classes are apt smaller too. According to a National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report, assemblage enrollment has been down 6.5% crossed the committee since the pandemic’s onset. But for assemblage colleges, that fig is 14%.

“If enrollment numbers continued to drop, that puts economical accent connected the college,” said Andy Dorsey, Front Range Community College president.

He says that the school’s numbers haven’t been arsenic bad. They were down 3.5% past twelvemonth and this twelvemonth are down fractional a percent. It’s not huge, but helium hopes astir of those students travel back.

“You’ve got entry-level jobs going for $17, $18, $19/hour. They had their incomes disrupted implicit the past year. That’s astir apt beauteous important to them. In the agelong run, I anticipation we tin promote them to springiness assemblage different look because, successful the agelong run, they’ll person a amended income accidental if they get much education,” said Dorsey.

The pandemic has impacted assemblage colleges crossed the state successful ways different than enrollment, adjacent successful paradise.

“We’ve had 16 module resign oregon retire,” said Frankie Harriss, the Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs astatine Kauai Community College.

Sixteen module members correspond 22% of her staff. She says that and the pandemic has impacted their enrollment numbers.

“We had an 18% driblet successful our moving adults and 15% successful our school-age students who would transfer,” said Harriss.

Some groups are being impacted much than others.

“We’ve seen a driblet successful first-generation lower-income students,” said Dorsey.

“We spot them astir acutely among first-generation assemblage students, pell recipients, and students of color, and we cognize the pandemic did not interaction communities equally,” said Cecilia Orphan, a prof astatine the University of Denver focusing connected higher education.

She says determination are a ton of benefits to going to and finishing college.

“The fig of jobs that are going to beryllium disposable for radical who don’t person immoderate assemblage is shrinking, and we person a maturation successful the fig of jobs that necessitate immoderate college, and truthful with these kinds of declines make agelong word economical impacts,” said Orphan.

Dorsey wants radical to cognize determination is an inexpensive acquisition enactment retired there.

“A assemblage assemblage is remarkably affordable. For a 5 1000 dollar investment, they tin get a accomplishment acceptable that tin transportation them guardant for galore years,” said Dorsey.