Credit: Jeff Bohen
Enrollment at local colleges, including Bucks County community College, has been dropping steadily in recent semesters.
According to data provided by the college, enrollment is down slightly more than 1,000 students from a high of 11,289 in 2010.
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The drop comes after an impressive spike in enrollment which followed the economic downturn of 2008.
“When people lose their job, people return to community college in order to be retrained,” Stephanie Shanblatt, president of Bucks County Community College, said. “The spike was mainly in the adult population.”
Classes lose frequency as a direct result of dropping enrollment, and as a result, cancellations are much more common during times of consistent enrollment.
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“[Dropped classes] can be a challenge when it comes to the niche courses,” explained Shanblatt. These are generally major specific courses which not many students outside of said major are enrolling.
Students are able to overcome canceled mandatory classes through the use of independent study, however. This ensures that a single canceled class may never stand in the way of a student’s graduation.
Shanblatt, along with other staff at the college, including Tony Rogers and Albert Rieger, professors of journalism and economics respectively, believe that lowering enrollment is sign of the economies recovery.
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Shanblatt also pointed out that there is a long term downward trend in 18 year old graduating each year; “We have less potential students, this is also a challenge for many universities and colleges. Everybody was down some.”
Dropping enrollment not only hurts the college’s numbers, but also hurts individuals who may have canceled classes. Tony Rogers, professor of journalism, had experience with classes being dropped; “I can understand why students are frustrated, because they find out late.”
Because journalism is a small department, Rogers was able to email his students and warn them of the impending cancellations. This is, however, not the case for all departments. As a result, many students get almost no notice regarding canceled classes.
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Despite lower enrollment numbers, the college still has plans to build a new science building which will replace the current portable classrooms. Tuition is not being effected by construction of the building because funds are coming from the state and county.
Although enrollment challenges face the college, the college says it continues to pursue it’s main goal, helping students to achieve higher education.
- 2006: 9,884
- 2007: 9.973
- 2008: 10,219
- 2009: 11,281
- 2010: 11,289
- 2011: 10,726
- 2012: 10,673
- 2013: 10,168
Editor’s Note: Erich Martin is a LevittownNow.com intern and student at Bucks County Community College.
