Community colleges work to beat enrollment slump

The educators running suburban community colleges are creating new leadership positions and special task forces to try to solve a problem: How to get students in the door.

Head counts statewide dropped for the fourth straight year - with some 14,000 fewer students enrolling this semester compared to fall 2013.

To turn around the declines, colleges are hiring enrollment management coordinators and working closely with high schools to persuade more teens to take college courses - credit that counts toward both high school graduation and a college degree.

The idea is to get students to plan even earlier for the move from the classroom to a career.

"Our whole educational system is realizing that we need to help students be very focused in what kind of postsecondary education and training they need," says Diana Robinson, director of Northern Illinois University's Center for Governmental Studies, which was hired by the state to research the economic impact of Illinois' 48 community colleges.

The numbers

Economy dives, enrollment surges. That was the case during the Great Recession, when the state's community colleges enjoyed record spikes in enrollment.

"That's when a lot of people who either are unemployed or have been laid off think that 'It's a good time for me to be going to school because my job prospects are kind of weak anyway,'" Robinson said. "'So let me go back and retool and get the skills to make me more marketable.'"

Now, a rebounding economy helps explain the trend playing out in Illinois and nationally. Would-be students are foregoing community colleges for a regular paycheck in an improving job market.

Demographics also are a factor. In Elgin Community College's district, for instance, there's been a slightly smaller pool of high school graduates who go directly to ECC, but officials don't know why yet.

"Everything's slightly stagnant right now," said Phil Garber, executive director of planning and institutional effectiveness. "It's not enough to make us too nervous. We've gone through peaks and valleys before. I think we're just in a valley right now."

At College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, however, the number of credit-seeking students has soared 10.3 percent compared to fall 2010. Head count across the state, by contrast, tumbled 11.1 percent in that period.

The Illinois Community College Board tallies students enrolled at the end of fall registration, typically the 10th day of class. In January or February, the board will show where the losses occurred, by programs of study, age, race and other areas.

This fall, an extra 849 students, or 3 percent, enrolled at COD, while Waubonsee was up 1.7 percent and Harper was up 0.9 percent compared to fall 2013. On the other end of the spectrum, enrollment at College of Lake County's three campuses plunged 12.9 percent, although officials say that number was artificially low partly because CLC changed when it collects tuition and drops students who don't pay. After three weeks of classes, head count was down 8.3 percent, spokeswoman Evelyn Schiele said.

The response

Patrick Peyer became CLC's first dean of enrollment services this month.

He will oversee how multiple departments - financial aid, admissions, international education - attract and retain students.

It wasn't that the job wasn't covered before, officials say. What's new is "defining an individual area to coordinate those efforts," Peyer said.

A consultant also recently reviewed what CLC does to appeal to prospective students. Although CLC hasn't announced the findings, the consultant was impressed by plans to move orientation online and bring more convenience to new students, Schiele said.

At Harper, a task force studying the slump will find ways to better prepare adults for "intimidating" course placement tests and make recommendations in January, says Maria Moten, assistant provost and dean of enrollment services.

Fewer adults 25 and older are enrolling at Harper, which is consistent with the rest of the state.

Head count in that age group is most affected by economic trends.

As for the traditional-age student, Harper has joined an NIU-led regional network of high school districts and community colleges.

The group will meet at a White House summit on college access this week.

The network, among other things, aims to align high school and college curriculum.

At Harper alone, more than 3,000 high schoolers in the district take dual and concurrent credit courses.

"We need to help students move as seamlessly and efficiently as possible from prekindergarten into postsecondary and then out into the workforce," NIU's Robinson said. "Students can't afford to be kind of thrashing about trying to figure out what courses they need to graduate."