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APPLICATIONS AND ENROLLMENT SPIKE AT COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News
07-10-09 – 9:00 a.m. - A bright lining to the dark cloud that is the recession is that two area community colleges are seeing an enrollment explosion, but the increase will mean additional costs to the counties.
Hudson Valley Community College (HVCC) and Columbia-Greene Community College (C-GCC) reported double-digit increases in applications for the upcoming fall semester, with Hudson Valley also reporting a double-digit growth in student enrollment.
HVCC Communications Director Patricia Monaco reported an 11 percent increase in enrollment for the fall, with new enrollees still being scheduled. The Troy-based college that serves a number of Columbia County residents has 8,397 students already scheduled for the fall, an 813-student increase over the same time period last year when the college ended up with a record 12,787 students walking its halls. In terms of applications, Monaco reported 9,373 applications so far filed for the fall semester, up from 8,337 at the same time last year.
Meanwhile, at Columbia-Greene Community College in Greenport, officials reported a 39 percent spike in applications for the fall semester compared with last year, with 1,144 applications filed through June. That is up from 823 applications through June of last year and double the number of applications received at this time just six years ago for the fall 2003 semester.
C-GCC Communications Director Allen Kovler said the college won’t determine actual enrollment for the fall until two or three weeks into the semester when a stable count is in place. Before that time, he said, enrollment fluctuates as students rush to enroll or drop out because of job or family obligations. |
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“We will definitely have a record number of students yet again," said Monaco, making reference to last year’s record enrollment.
The fall 2008 and spring 2009 semesters found record or near-record enrollments at both community colleges, reflecting a national trend of skyrocketing student enrollments. The number of students attending community colleges traditionally increases during an economic downturn, with many in the workforce returning to the two-year colleges for degrees or job training.
Kovler and Monaco reported an across-the-board increase in the demographics of students—adults returning to or entering college for the first time, as well as recent high school graduates entering college for the first time.
The impact of the enrollment increase for Columbia County residents could be a double-edged sword. While county residents receiving new skills and a higher education is a benefit, county taxpayers share the costs of Columbia-Greene Community College with Greene County taxpayers, the state, and students who pay tuition. The amount contributed by each county is based on the number of students enrolled from each county. The more Columbia County students enrolled at C-GCC, the greater the county’s share of the costs for the college the following year.
Columbia and Greene county lawmakers are currently considering approval of the roughly $4.7 million local share of the college’s upcoming budget. Because of the breakdown of student enrollment which saw more Columbia County students than Greene County students enroll last year, Columbia County will assume 56.8 percent of the cost—$2.7 million—while Greene County will pay 43.2 percent—approximately $2 million. Columbia County’s obligations increased in the budget by $163,000; Greene County’s decreased by $71,000.
Columbia County, as do counties across the state, also reimburses other counties for residents who attend community colleges in those counties. For example, the county currently pays 33 percent of the cost of educating each Columbia County student who attends Hudson Valley Community College.
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