Community College Enrollment Still Sliding

Despite fee reductions for some students, overall enrollment continues to decline at the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District, with mixed results at its three San Fernando Valley colleges.

The student head count Tuesday, the first day of spring semester classes, was down 1.4% districtwide compared to a year ago, with six of the nine district campuses suffering losses. One of those is Valley College in Van Nuys, where enrollment was off 1.9%, according to a district report.

The first-day tally for the nation’s largest community college district was 87,996, down from 89,270 in spring 1995.

The statistics are particularly disappointing because officials had expected an enrollment jump after higher state fees for community college students with bachelor’s degrees lapsed Jan. 1. Those students, who had been paying $50 per unit, now will pay the same $13-per-unit fee as others.

The news was better at Mission College in Sylmar, which posted a 6.6% increase over a year ago, the best showing in the district. Enrollment at Pierce College in Woodland Hills was all but flat, posting only a .5% gain. The Mission and Pierce college numbers reflect a student population that is rebounding from earthquake-depressed enrollments in 1995.

The declines drew complaints from members of the Board of Trustees at their meeting Wednesday. After discovering last October that the district’s fall enrollment had plummeted to its second-lowest level in 25 years, college administrators promised to design a plan to combat the slide. But trustees were told at the meeting that it is likely to be several months before a plan is announced.

“The truth is we should have been looking at these kinds of solutions before now,” complained Trustee Elizabeth Garfield. Attracting and retaining students, Garfield said, “needs to be a priority issue for this district.”

Enrollment is important to community colleges because it dictates the level of state funding they receive each year. Lost enrollment means lost money. Tuesday’s count represents preliminary figures, with the official tally that affects funding still about a month away.

Student Trustee Ruben Garcia said the district’s advertising and recruitment efforts appeared stronger in recent months than in the past. But he suggested more recruiting efforts need to target the Spanish-speaking community, which accounts for an increasing share of enrollment.

Leon Marzillier, president of the district’s faculty union, urged district officials to quickly order a series of changes. His recommendations include relaxing policies on canceling classes with low enrollments, adding more sections of high-demand classes and adding mini-courses that are shorter than a semester in duration.

Among the other campuses, West Los Angeles College had a 3.7% increase, the second-largest. Southwest College dropped 5.8%, City College dropped 5%, Trade-Technical College fell 2.7%, East Los Angeles College declined 2%, and Harbor College had a 1.7% loss in enrollment.