As the national economy continues to grow, local community colleges like Thomas Nelson Community College are suffering from lower enrollment rates and decreased funding.
According to data from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, enrollment at the college has dropped from 11,086 in 2010 to only 7,685 in 2018.
John T. Dever, president of the college, addressed the issue during his College Day Remarks in 2018 saying that while the 2018-2019 school year was ahead for summer enrollment, the overall enrollment for the fall semester was down approximately 11 percent compared to the previous year.
“As you know, Thomas Nelson is not alone among Virginia’s Community Colleges in experiencing this decline,” Dever said. “The trends have been statewide, in fact national in scope, but we are in a group of colleges for which the decline has been particularly severe.”
Kris Rarig, interim vice president for student affairs, said the decline in enrollment doesn’t have a specific reason, but one of the larger contributing factors is the lower number of unemployment rates in the state and nationally.
Rarig said community colleges are counter-cyclical to the economy, so anytime the economy is doing poorly, such as during the recession around 2010, student enrollment increases. But as the economy continues to grow stronger, community colleges like TNCC see a hard hit in numbers.
“Now people are able to get jobs and don’t feel the need for more training,” Rarig said. “And while we certainly don’t like to see it, this is a normal part of our cycle.”
Decline in enrollment poses a greater problem for the school than just filling classes. State funding for community colleges is dependent on enrollment. In his All College Day address, Dever said the school would have to operate in the 2018-2019 school year with approximately $5.7 million less than it had the previous two years.
As a result, the school has had to cut back on non-personnel expenses and maintain a large number of vacant administrative, faculty and staff positions. Even Rarig’s position is not necessarily permanent, she said.
“There is no way of disguising that these steps have created stress and sometimes downright pain, requiring extra resolve and effort on the part of all college employees,” Dever said.
Another way to address this issue was by creating the Select Committee on Enrollment which is composed of individuals from the College Support Staff Association, the Council of Mid-Level Managers and the Faculty Senate.
The purpose of the committee was to develop and improve strategies to address marketing and branding with the goal of recruiting more students. The committee has collaborated with local high schools and looked at revisions in scheduling to enhance the student experience.
Rarig said for the past few years, the college has been looking to find ways to make the student experience as simple as possible as a way to keep the college more stable during times of national economic stability.
“Community college students tend to have a lot more life issues that prevent them from completing their degree,” she said. “We want to continue to monitor our spending and pull back if we need to, but that’s not our core mission. If there is something we really need, we are going to be as creative and resourceful as we need without hurting students who want to enroll in a course.”
When considering programs or courses to cut, Rarig said the number of students enrolled in a program is not what is considered.
“The college is looking at multiple factors and taking a comprehensive look at all of our programs to ensure they are vital, relevant, current, and meet the needs of the community,” she said.
Rarig said there isn’t an estimate of how long the decline in enrollment will continue, but the school is prepared to continuously evaluate operations to achieve the educational mission for every student.
