Enrollment & Admissions

It’s no secret that California’s community college system is working under a squeaky tight budget this year, in light of the state’s decision to pull even more college funding from their budget. However, the question remains as to how to educate a record number of Californians with less money to go around? The solutions have not been easy and some have been downright unpalatable, including one choice on the table to ration classes for students most likely to succeed. Still, the idea has some merit with many inside the system, and it may be the precise direction California community colleges are forced to head into during the next academic year.

Forced to Turn Students Away

California community colleges are supposed to be an affordable way for state residents to get a higher education, whether they are recent high school graduates or professionals looking to make a career change. Currently, the system boasts around 2.6 million students from all demographics, coming to campuses to find the education and training they need to create a better life for themselves and their families. Community colleges have long been touted as a way to break the poverty cycle, allowing first-generation college students to find good jobs and income once their college education is completed.

However, the simple law of supply and demand has forced many schools across the state to make difficult decisions about who gets to pursue that education and who must wait in the wings.

Enrollment has been growing by exponential numbers at many community colleges across the country, as an economic slowdown and high unemployment rates have sent many adults back to school in search of training. Then in 2020, the COVID pandemic turned the education scene at every level upside down. Community colleges nationwide experience significant drops in enrollment. Most colleges switched from in-person classes to online classes.

Stabilizing Enrollment Still Features High Numbers

While community college enrollment may be stabilizing, the number of students in community college today versus four years ago is still much higher.

“It’s not that enrollment is down,” Kent Phillipe, senior research associate for the American Association of Community Colleges told Inside Higher Ed. “It has essentially stopped growing.”

Phillipe explained that community college enrollments have “stabilized at a high number,” indicating that although growth may be slowing, there are still record numbers of students at community college campuses across the nation. In some ways, the stabilization may ease the strain on community colleges that have been struggling to find ways to accommodate more students every year. The job has been particularly challenging in light of the many state budget cuts that have resulted in less state funding to the very schools that are trying to ramp up their programs to meet the increasing enrollment needs.

“When rising enrollments maxed out their classrooms and swamped their registration systems, community colleges had to be creative and find solutions,” Walter G. Bumphus, president,

Business has been booming at community colleges across the country in recent years, as a slow economy has sent many displaced workers and high school graduates in search of affordable higher education to their campuses. However, that trend appears to be slowing – at least for some areas of the nation – this year, as many community colleges are seeing slower growth rates and even a reversal in enrollment numbers. Why the change? While no one seems to know exactly why fewer students are now enrolling in community colleges, there are some theories circulating about the lower enrollment figures.

This video looks at falling enrollment in Michigan community colleges.

Michigan and California Community Colleges Facing Declining Enrollment

Michigan is just one of the Midwestern states that is seeing some of the most dramatic drops in community college enrollment this year. According to a report a CTI Career Search, schools in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo Valley are both facing smaller student bodies this year than last, with an approximate five-percent drop in enrollment numbers. More of the schools in the state are expecting similar declines.

“We’re hearing from at least a quarter of the schools, maybe as many as a third,” Michael Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association was quoted as saying at CTI Career Search. “There are a number of reasons. But when you consider

The Boom

According to a recent report announced on PR Newswire, the rate of enrollment at community colleges has been on a steady incline for the past decade. Community colleges make up the largest post-secondary education sector, with nearly 44 percent of all the undergraduates in this country. From 2008 to 2009, that increase hit a spike, with an 11 percent increase during that academic year alone. Between 2007 and 2009, the total increase in community college enrollment hit an all-time high of nearly 17 percent.

These percentages indicate that the total number of community college students on campuses across the country has increased by 1.4 million since 2007. It is no coincidence that this is the same year that the recession officially began, and many adults lost their jobs. Today, the total number of credit-earning community college students is approximately 8.2 million. There are an additional five million non-credit students gracing campuses across the country as

Many say that you are never too old to head back to school. But what about being too young? According to a recent report in USA Today, youngsters trying to accelerate their academic careers may find themselves against a roadblock when it is time to explore the world of higher education. At least, that is what a young Florida girl found out when she tried to enroll in a community college near her home.

The Case of Anastasia Megan

Anastasia Megan was 13-years-old when she applied to a local community college near her Florida home. The home-schooled student had completed all of the requirements necessary for high school graduation and was ready to advance in her academic career. She looked to Lake-Sumter Community College for the next step, but the college denied her application because administrators feared Megan was too young to sit with other college students in classes.

As a result of the college's decision, Megan and her family filed a formal complaint against Lake-Sumter, and the case is now being reviewed by the Office for Civil Rights. The premise of the complaint is that denial of college admittance based on age is a violation of the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance." Under federal law, mediation must first be attempted before the Office of Civil Rights will get involved. The Department of Education verified that