More locals enroll at GCC

Glendale Community College officials say local outreach efforts are paying off, with more students enrolling in the college in recent years from high schools in Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles.

Over the years, college officials have meticulously tallied each contact they’ve made with college-bound students. During the 2012-13 school year, they reached 15,222 students on high school campuses, as well as at college fairs or other events. That figure is up from 6,903 contacts made in 2004 and 2005.

Glendale college officials have also increased efforts to recruit students attending Los Angeles Unified schools in recent years.

In 2010, 345 students who graduated from 13 Los Angeles Unified schools enrolled in the Glendale college.

They came from Helen Bernstein, Marshall and Belmont high schools, among others. By the fall of 2012, Glendale Community College boasted 530 students from the same 13 schools.

Recruiting students from Glendale Unified schools remains a solid priority, according to enrollment statistics.

From 2009 to 2012, nearly 60% — or 603 of 1,106 seniors who graduated from Clark Magnet High School — enrolled at Glendale Community College, according to data from the college’s Student Outreach Services Department.

At Hoover High School, half of the 1,766 graduates from 2009 to 2012 went to Glendale Community College.

During the same period, 706, or 26%, of 2,168 graduates from Crescenta Valley High enrolled at the college.

During the same four years, 1,122 Glendale High seniors enrolled, out of more than 2,000 who graduated from there.

The college established its outreach program with a single staff member in 1999, using all the funds the campus could afford back then, said Paul Schlossman, dean of student affairs for Glendale Community College.

But after reallocating budget funds, the outreach program was expanded in 2006.

Today, five full-time staff members work with 12 student “ambassadors” who regularly visit high schools.

There is also a push to attract more Burbank Unified students; the college has served fewer students from that area, compared to Glendale, from 2009 to 2012.

During those four years, an average of 25% — or 629 of 2,518 Burbank High graduates — enrolled at the college, and Burroughs High had just 16% — or 393 of 2,445 graduates.

Alen Andriassian, the manager of outreach and assessment for Glendale Community College, told college trustees this week that a potential reason for a lower number of Burroughs students could be that Los Angeles Valley College is in “Burroughs’ backyard.”

The high school sits about seven miles from both Glendale Community College and Los Angeles Valley College.

“There is still room for growth,” he said about drawing more students from Burbank schools. “But we have to understand the proximity of other colleges in that area.”

There is also a focus to attract students through digital means. Officials regularly tally the college’s “followers” on its social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

Within the next two weeks, Schlossman said the college will launch a virtual tour program. Officials are also looking to create a mobile application so potential students could receive notifications about the college’s registration deadlines on their smartphones.
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Follow Kelly Corrigan on Twitter: @kellymcorrigan.

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