2008 Woodie Awards
Enrollment Numbers Could Cost Valley
LaGina Phillips
Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Valley College President Tyree Wieder gave her State of the Campus speech Monday and said that the steadily decreasing enrollment over the past three years could cost the campus nearly $2 million.
Weeks ago, administrators pegged a faulty class schedule as one of the main causes for the enrollment drop. A few of the problems with the schedule include a lack of basic skills classes and courses that meet graduation requirements, according to school officials. Wieder added Monday that the school is having trouble holding on to its students.
"We are doing a good job bringing new students," said Sheri Berger, vice president of curriculum. "We are just not doing a good job keeping them here."
Valley's enrollment in 2002 was 19,275 and has since dipped to 16,238. Since most of the state's funding is tied to enrollment, Valley is concerned.
"I'm very hopeful and confident that we'll be able to reduce the [$2 million] deficit ... by half," said Wieder. "We have eight months to try to reconcile those numbers."
During Valley's enrollment decline, sister school Pierce College has seen a steady increase. Valley's enrollment is down by 4 percent while Pierce is up by the same number.
"We marketed the same as Pierce," said Wieder. "We advertised on the stations that we think reach students."
Like Pierce, Valley uses direct-mail postcards and cable advertising. Mike Cornner, Pierce's director of marketing and public relations, attributes his campus' increased headcount to its student-friendly class schedule.
"We're doing an excellent job scheduling classes, said Cornner. "It's hard to boost enrollment when you offer fewer classes."
Valley is offering 22 fewer courses than last semester and has started to cut classes for next semester due to low enrollment numbers, which might drive away more students.
A 16-member Enrollment Management Task Force and Cherine Trombley, associate dean of research and planning, studied the class schedule to find a solution. They discovered that, in addition to the lack of basic skills classes and a lack of classes required for graduation, the schedule also places required classes at conflicting times. Valley is also offering fewer night classes, although 34 percent of students take only evening classes, with an additional 26 percent taking both day and evening classes.
After the analysis, school officials have started tweaking the schedule and are making other efforts, such as increasing direct-mailing to returning students and boosting advertising to attract new students. Campus officials hope this will have an affect on enrollment as early as the winter and spring semesters.
Administrators are meeting today to discuss possibilities to retain students, such as a December Monarch Day, which would allow continuing students to RSVP for classes before registration and if more than 40 students request a course that class would be added to the schedule. A New Student Welcome Day is also in the plans to introduce students to programs and support services available to new students.
Weeks ago, administrators pegged a faulty class schedule as one of the main causes for the enrollment drop. A few of the problems with the schedule include a lack of basic skills classes and courses that meet graduation requirements, according to school officials. Wieder added Monday that the school is having trouble holding on to its students.
"We are doing a good job bringing new students," said Sheri Berger, vice president of curriculum. "We are just not doing a good job keeping them here."
Valley's enrollment in 2002 was 19,275 and has since dipped to 16,238. Since most of the state's funding is tied to enrollment, Valley is concerned.
"I'm very hopeful and confident that we'll be able to reduce the [$2 million] deficit ... by half," said Wieder. "We have eight months to try to reconcile those numbers."
During Valley's enrollment decline, sister school Pierce College has seen a steady increase. Valley's enrollment is down by 4 percent while Pierce is up by the same number.
"We marketed the same as Pierce," said Wieder. "We advertised on the stations that we think reach students."
Like Pierce, Valley uses direct-mail postcards and cable advertising. Mike Cornner, Pierce's director of marketing and public relations, attributes his campus' increased headcount to its student-friendly class schedule.
"We're doing an excellent job scheduling classes, said Cornner. "It's hard to boost enrollment when you offer fewer classes."
Valley is offering 22 fewer courses than last semester and has started to cut classes for next semester due to low enrollment numbers, which might drive away more students.
A 16-member Enrollment Management Task Force and Cherine Trombley, associate dean of research and planning, studied the class schedule to find a solution. They discovered that, in addition to the lack of basic skills classes and a lack of classes required for graduation, the schedule also places required classes at conflicting times. Valley is also offering fewer night classes, although 34 percent of students take only evening classes, with an additional 26 percent taking both day and evening classes.
After the analysis, school officials have started tweaking the schedule and are making other efforts, such as increasing direct-mailing to returning students and boosting advertising to attract new students. Campus officials hope this will have an affect on enrollment as early as the winter and spring semesters.
Administrators are meeting today to discuss possibilities to retain students, such as a December Monarch Day, which would allow continuing students to RSVP for classes before registration and if more than 40 students request a course that class would be added to the schedule. A New Student Welcome Day is also in the plans to introduce students to programs and support services available to new students.
