By Jen Allen
IV Leader Staff, Sept. 13, 2007
Veteran students may notice the sudden lack of parking spots —latecomers suddenly have to park in the back forty, unable to find that lucky spot in Lot 2 that enabled them to get to class in under two minutes.
The hallways are suddenly more crowded, the cafeteria lines about twice as long and the classes filled to their maximum. All this is a part of the new semester of the new academic year.
Compared to last year, the fall 2007 student population seems huge — 3,943 students to be exact, an almost 7 percent increase from last year, according to Admissions Director Tracy Morris.
She says that there are “natural ebbs and flows” to the student population over the years. Part of the reason for lack of close parking spaces, Morris believes, is the fact that there are very few carpoolers — instead of one car and five people, there is now one car and one person. In the future, more parking may be available.
IVCC is looking into the reasons it is seeing an increase in enrollment.
Morris said more students tend to come to IVCC because they are working. These people tend to take their classes in the morning, mostly leaving for work by noon. Morris said another great plus to IV is that the community college can save those working people $5,000-$25,000 a year.
The average student age is about 26, with 36 percent of the student population consisting of 18 to 20 year olds. Thirty percent of students are 21-30 years old.
Morris says more 50-60 year olds are coming to IV because they are “merging careers.” They want something different to do in their lives, supplemental money for trips and “fun stuff,” or even because the company they worked at went bankrupt and took the retirement funds with them.
Morris said another reason for the enrollment increase is the greater ability for student interaction and professor help on a community college campus.
Morris said at IV, the faculty’s job is not to research — like many universities — but to teach.
Of course, as more students are enrolled, more funding comes into the institution. IVCC will benefit both through additional tuition dollars and a greater state reimbursement in the future.