STLCC sees increase in part-time students and drop in full-time
Mike Ziegler
-Photo Editor-
STLCC reported little enrollment increase from the fall of 2010 semester, according to final census date enrollment data shared with the Missouri Department of Higher Education.
District-wide, STLCC saw a 0.4 percent increase in students enrolled, up 102 students from the fall 2010 semester.
“Our numbers are flat,” George Wasson, STLCC-Meramec president, said.
Wasson attributed Meramec’s low enrollment numbers partly to a drop in students attending the South County campus, which falls under Meramec’s campus enrollment.
District wide, STLCC saw a drop of 7.1 percent, or 901 students, in full-time enrollment.
However, part-time enrollment saw an increase of 6.1 percent or 1,003 students compared to fall of 2010.
“I think it’s easy to draw conclusions. To me, it’s never that simple,” Kim Fitzgerald, enrollment manager, said. “A lot of it has to do with the economy, the programs offered, how we offer them; a lot of things can get caught up in the blame.”
An area seeing a jump or steady enrollment is the 26 to 45 age brackets.
“We’ve seen a lot of people who are coming to update their skills,” Fitzgerald said. “We are creating certificates that are more applicable to what is going on.”
Revenue to fund STLCC comes from three sources: local income taxes, state funding and enrollment.
“We are conservative on our estimates so we don’t come up short during the year,” Wasson said. “We had a larger budget in place, but we’re still on track.”
Reorganization of the use of facilities, like moving lecture classes out of labs, would free up the lab for other classes.
Wasson said things like football on the Quad, students playing instruments around campus and events held like the “Give a Damn” documentary give Meramec more of a “campus feel.”
“We feel that we’re an attractive option,” Wasson said. “We’re not the ‘other choice,’ we are a choice.”
