Community colleges tend to follow the patterns of employment. When unemployment is low, so is community college enrollment. That is because the students we serve tend to be working adults or high-school students from low-income families. For those reasons, we saw a decline in enrollment during the spring and fall semesters as well as a decline in African American students and Latino males, which is a national phenomenon. In addition to unemployment being low, you have inflation and an increase in housing prices, which has made it more difficult for people to find places to live in the area.

—Dr. Pedraja

Tagged As