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Enrollment for the 2012 Spring/Summer semester declined by double digits compared to last year
According to a report from Washtenaw Community College, the total number of students enrolled for the Summer semester fell from 7,982 students last year to 6,918 attending this year, a 13.3 percent decline. Worse, the number of credit hours those students have enrolled for is down 18 percent.
While there is no definitive reason why enrollment has declined, there are several possible reasons for the low enrollment numbers, according to Associate Vice President Student Services Linda Blakey .
“One of the primary factors is the change in financial aid,” Blakey said in an e-mail. “For the last two summers, year-round Pell grants were available to students. This semester, year-round Pell is no longer available.”
Another possibility is the elimination of the No Worker Left Behind funding or the lower unemployment rate in Washtenaw County, meaning more people are working. And it’s not just Washtenaw seeing those lower numbers.
“Every community college in Michigan has experienced reductions in headcount and credit hours for the spring/summer semester,” Blakey said.
