By Ryan Wilson, Editor
SPRINGFIELD – Lincoln Land’s enrollment has dropped for the second-straight spring semester and the third time in the last four years.
LLCC’s enrollment on the 10th day of classes this semester was 6,806 students, down 5.2 percent from the same time last spring. The school had an enrollment of 7,181 students that semester.
“We knew it (enrollment) was going to go down,” said Lynn Whalen, Lincoln Land executive director of public relations and marketing. “I mean, all the signs were there.”
Each community college in Illinois has seen an average of a 3.4 percent enrollment decrease from last spring, according to a report by the Illinois Community College Board.
Whalen said the economy plays a factor in the enrollment numbers. She said there might be more job opportunities when the economy is better, so fewer people may choose to attend a community college.
“When the economy really tanked … our enrollment went up,” Whalen said.
Lincoln Land’s enrollment went up 15.2 percent (1,095 students) from the 2010 to 2011 spring semesters.
Whalen also said there are fewer high school students.
“We are visiting high schools, businesses and agencies to speak to prospective students,” she said. “We deployed a newly designed website this year with prospective students in mind. We continually evaluate our marketing strategies to try to reach prospective students of all ages with the right messages using the right media”
About 500 students attended the campus visit day in February, Whalen said.
“We’re happy with 300 (students),” she said. “That’s been about as high as we’ve ever gotten, so that’s a dramatic increase.”
Lisa Collier said she does not think the college has any number that would be considered dangerously low.
“We’re a nonprofit organization, and so we’re here to see the students,” said Collier, the associate vice president of enrollment services. “I think our mission is to make sure that our students are successful.”
Collier said Lincoln Land’s enrollment dropped to 5,700 as of Feb. 20. She said some students may have left due to financial or time constraints.
“There were some days that when the numbers went down, … I didn’t understand how it could have ever been there,” she said. “I was like, ‘Wait, I know I served many students myself, and it seemed like we were busy.’ ”
Whalen said the college needs the enrollment to go up to help keep “our budget going strong.”
LLCC received $902,074 from federal grants and contracts in 2013. That number is down from $1,647,704 in 2012, according from the LLCC 2013 and 2012 reports. Data from last year has not yet been made available to the public.
“In the past few years, Student Services has reorganized and revamped the steps to enrollment to include orientation and student success initiatives,” Whalen said. “They continue to look at ways to increase efficiency.”
Ryan Wilson can be reached at [email protected] or (217) 786-2311.
