While some experts are expecting a jump in the popularity of two-year institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the data doesn’t yet reflect such a trend.
“Community college enrollment tends to be countercyclical,” said Paul Feist, vice chancellor for communications at the California Community Colleges’ chancellor’s office.
Based on experiences during previous economic downturns, it is reasonable to expect increased enrollment, but Feist said that may not happen as much as in the past when the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic are factored in. “We are planning that we will have additional — not huge, but additional — enrollment growth in the fall,” Feist said.
Numbers for the summer session currently underway are “mixed,” said Feist. Some colleges are reporting solid gains over the same period as 2019—as much as almost 10%—but others are not showing any increase. It is too early to assess fall numbers, he said.
On the positive side, online education has become much more sophisticated over the past decade. There are 115 community colleges in California, one of which is all online. Feist said approximately 18% of the education was online prior to the pandemic and now nearly 100% is online. On the flip side, some students are struggling with online education for a variety of reasons.
Meanwhile, the City University of New York (CUNY) said it has seen a surge in summer session enrollment. All institutions across the CUNY system, which includes two-year, four-year and graduate schools, have posted an overall 17% increase. CUNY’s seven community colleges have shown a 5% increase.
“The growth of our summer enrollment is a product of CUNY’s first-class academics, extraordinary affordability and the outstanding outcomes our graduates can expect,” said CUNY chancellor Dr. Félix V. Matos Rodríguez in a press statement. “We are thrilled to provide access to high-quality distance education programs in these uncertain times.”
