Slight drop experienced in spring enrollment

By Alyssa Wielgopolan
IV Leader Staff, Feb. 17, 2011

    Enrollments for the 2011 Spring Semester at IVCC are at a 4,272 unduplicated student head count with 39,042 credit hours being taken.
    The head count and credit hours are 2 percent less than last spring’s semester, but are still well above the numbers from 2008 and 2009.
    With the sudden economy crisis in 2010, the college held record highs in enrollments that are hard to compete with, according to Tracy Morris, associate vice president for student services.
    Enrollments have fallen slightly due to the economy beginning to rebound, an increase in part time students instead of full time, and an increase in extension sites.
    The new Ottawa Center is one cause of the fall in students at the main campus. The number of students in the Ottawa center has risen from 368 students to 447 this semester due to the addition of more classes. Because of this extension site, there has been a 5 percent growth rate in Ottawa students and a 13 percent growth in Marseilles students who attend IVCC.
    “To keep the enrollments high we will continue to respond to community employment needs, continue to develop strong relationships with local high schools, and provide a quality education and promote the values and benefits of community colleges,” said Morris.