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FSCC bucks state trend for enrollment
Despite enrollment decreasing at many community colleges across the state, overall enrollment numbers are up 3.3 percent at Fort Scott Community College since last year. The total number of enrolled student hours has increased by 803, from 24,193 to 24,996, according to a comparative hours report released Sept. 30 by FSCC.
"Retention is key," Robert Goltra III, dean of Student Services at FSCC, said. "When I came to Fort Scott Community College, I wanted to bring some of the best practices I've seen at other institutions. I think what's helped us is, we've been able to retain a few more students than we have in past years. A couple ways we've been able to do that is through student outreach. Student Services has really made a concentrated effort to contact students through various media. I think that makes our students feel more academically and socially connected to our institution."
Some of the programs showing the biggest increase in enrolled student hours include: Environmental Technology, up 148.7 percent; Construction Trade, up 81.5 percent; the HVAC program, up 17.6 percent; and the John Deere, HVAC program up 10.3 percent.
Programs showing the biggest decrease include: Cosmetology, down 39.5 percent, and Nursing, down 12.9 percent.
"We've started a campaign called Attendance Matters," Goltra said. "We are reaching out to students who are maybe not taking attendance as seriously as they need to. The college experience, in order to be successful, research says that the first year is huge. It establishes their GPA, and establishes in a lot of ways their credit in the financial aid world."
Goltra said a number of offices on campus have all contributed in different ways to the upward trend in FSCC enrollment.
"I've really been pleased with the way our Student Services, Advising, Admissions, and Financial Aid offices respectively, have taken orientation on the road to various schools in the area, and educated students on the importance of that first year experience, as well as the daily work they do contacting perspective students," Goltra said. "The Business office has also been a key component to student success. The directors and instructors of each respective program at Fort Scott have been instrumental in keeping students in class and helping them pursue careers."
An Associated Press article published on Oct. 7 reported enrollment is down this fall by 3.8 percent at 19 community colleges across Kansas. According to the article, this report was based on a Kansas Board of Regents head count, which only calculates enrollment numbers based off the first 20 days of the fall semester. The report released by FSCC showing an increase in enrollment, would have come after the Board of Regents' head count. The AP article noted that enrollment numbers can go up as students sign up for additional courses, such as online classes and courses that begin with the second eight-week schedule.
"At the state level, with enrollment being down, the downward trend I believe is associated with the job market," Goltra said. "There was a recession, and many experts would argue we're still in a recession. The employment rates have improved, and any time you see employment rates going up, you can sometimes equate that to enrollment being down at colleges because of more people working again."
He said often those who find themselves unemployed turn to college to earn a certificate or degree or to earn continuing education hours.
"A lot of those hours come from people taking online courses and part-time students, and not just full-time students," Goltra said. "So you lose some of that student population when they're working full-time."
Goltra said there are a number of areas which he thinks makes FSCC an attractive school to perspective students.
"Affordability," Goltra said. "Fort Scott Community College for Bourbon County residents, and also surrounding counties, is the most affordable institution in the area. That's obviously an instant attraction. The other thing is, we have a wide-variety of programs.
"When we are marketing to potential students or recruiting, we like to show off that we're more than just a general education school. That we have particular programs where students can come in and see their program of study. And students often times, regardless of what age, want to know two things; how long it's going to take and how much it's going to cost?
"So I think between our price point, and the fact that we have programs of study that show them receiving their certificate of degree, or being able to move on to their next goal in a timely fashion makes us very attractive," Goltra said.
To build upon FSCC's upward trend in enrollment, Goltra feels the school needs to bring in students of varying backgrounds.
"What's essential for us is to continue drawing quality students and improving enrollment," Goltra said. "You can only do that when you can offer a variety of courses, and you expand your program, and you don't limit yourself to one type of student. We need to cater and market to a variety of students."