After a decade of unprecedented enrollment at Flathead Valley Community College, the number of students signed up for classes this fall is lower than last year.
Last week the college released early enrollment numbers for the fall semester, which included both full- and part-time students. Last year 2,539 students were attending classes during the third week of the semester; this year 2,495 students are enrolled, a 1.7 percent drop. Students enrolled full-time, taking 12 or more credits, dropped even more. A year ago 1,870 people were taking a full class load and this year the number is down to 1,723, almost an 8 percent drop.
The numbers include both Kalispell and Libby campuses.
FVCC President Jane Karas said after a decade of growth, when the student population increased by 75 percent, it isn’t surprising that numbers are beginning to level off. She also attributed it to the economy slowly recovering after the recession.
“When the economy is good and unemployment is low, our enrollment is low,” she said, adding that many students also work while in college, which could account for the significant drop in full-time enrollment.
Between 2000 and 2010, annual full-time enrollment at FVCC increased by 931 students. Karas said displaced workers and the unemployed were the leading cause of the skyrocketing growth in the student body. Overall enrollment in Montana’s university system – which includes four-year institutions, colleges of technology and community colleges – has grown by 21.7 percent in the last decade, an increase of more than 7,000 students.
Of the three community colleges in the state system, no other has grown as fast FVCC, thanks in part to an increasing population and historically high unemployment rates in western Montana. On the state’s eastern side, attendance at the other two community colleges – Dawson Community College in Glendive and Miles Community College in Miles City – has remained relatively stable, according to Darren Pitcher, vice president of student success at MCC.
“Our enrollment has been about the same for the last few years because we didn’t see the big influx that Flathead saw,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the state’s largest universities, fall enrollment was at a record high at both the University of Montana and Montana State University. As of last week, enrollment at these institutions was 15,669 and 14,153 respectively.
Even with the slight drop in enrollment and significant drop in full-time students, Karas saw some positives in the data released last week.
“If you look at the change in head count, it’s only 44 students – we still have 2,400 that need services,” she said. “There’s a slight advantage here where we can regroup and look at how we can meet our students’ needs.”