Orange : Rancho Santiago College Cites Rise in Enrollment

Rancho Santiago College enrollment is 3.3% greater than at the same time last year and probably will be higher than any year since 1983, Hal Bateman, dean of admissions and records, said Monday.

Classes began Monday, but registration continues until Sept. 5. The community college has campuses in both Orange and Santa Ana.

“It appears that we’ve bottomed out after three years of declining enrollment,” said Bateman. He said he thinks the addition of short-term classes in such subjects as theater, cosmetology and quality assurance are among the reasons for the upswing this year.

Bateman said that virtually all community colleges in the state began losing enrollment in 1983. The decline followed actions by the Legislature and the governor that resulted in the assessment of tuition, the denial of state funds for many non-academic classes, and new state-mandated procedures, such as mandatory fees if students drop classes.

Bateman said he thinks enrollment at Rancho Santiago this year will reach about 21,500. “Our high point was in 1982, when we had 25,772,” he said. Enrollment plunged to 22,587 in 1983 and then to 20,275 in 1984, but began growing again last year, reaching 21,273, Bateman said.