During a recent administrative retreat, there was much discussion of enrollment management. Our enrollment, as measured by headcount, is up but we’re still short of the projected number of full time equivalent students on which our budget is projected. If you would like a clear snapshot of these numbers at any given time, they are available on our website at: http://www.westhillscollege.com/district/about/planning_research/reports/FTES/FTES.html.
In short, if we don’t meet these projections, we will have a serious budget shortfall and jobs and programs may be in jeopardy.
As the economy improves and the unemployment rate goes down, fewer people are taking college classes nationwide. Statewide, only a dozen or so community college districts are growing. We’re one of them.
Our educational attainment levels in this region are low and so there is a tremendous need for college classes. The discussion at administrative retreat focused on how to increase the number of students enrolling and also how to increase the number of units each student takes. But it also centered on several other things. They included:
- What we can do to “capture” students who may have started the application process but didn’t finish it?
- How can we keep them coming back between semesters? We lose about half of our first-term students each semester.
- How can we improve success rates in the classes students are taking?
These are just a few of the topics discussed. Don Warkentin has invited an expert on enrollment management to visit the district in September. Watch future issues of the employee newsletter for more details on this important subject.