☆ Expert: Covid’s not all to blame for community college enrollment declines
Christopher Jepsen — economics professor and former Public Policy Institute of California researcher — pinpoints why CA community college enrollment is on a startling downslope. Jepsen also suggests local policy initiatives to keep public colleges affordable and high quality. An Opp Now exclusive.
Opportunity Now: What do you think is the biggest reason Californians are less often opting for community college these days?
Christopher Jepsen: The initial decline was triggered by the global Covid pandemic. As a result, students had extra family or work responsibilities. Others simply didn't have the energy or focus — understandable given the circumstances. Others lacked the interest or the internet to pursue studies online.
But why has enrollment continued to decline? For many people, even if Covid is less of a threat, the increases in family and work responsibilities remain. Finances are tight, especially in recent months with rising prices. People are still exhausted by the pandemic. And one of the most appealing community college programs — nursing/health — is probably less appealing given the challenging working conditions in many health care settings. Finally, unemployment is really low, so students might think that there is less need for additional education (although I would disagree!).
ON: What can and should California community colleges do in light of these enrollment declines? In other words, if you had a magic wand and could enact/remove a policy, what would you do to try and stabilize enrollment?
CJ: If you look at the Chancellor's Office webpage, they are doing all the right things. They are touting the benefits of community colleges in terms of affordable programs and improved labor-market outcomes.
In addition, I'd encourage colleges (and/or the Chancellor's Office) to highlight programs that assist students with other areas like childcare and transportation. If I had a magic wand, I'd give colleges more money to provide additional services to students in these areas (child care, transportation, books, counseling, etc.).
Community colleges nationwide have very low completion rates. If community colleges have enough funding (which is not clear, given that much of the funding is on a per-student basis), then they may be better off by providing a higher-quality education to fewer students. I think many colleges struggled to accommodate the huge numbers of students they had in 2018 or 2019 largely because they lacked the funding to add infrastructure.
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