News - Local News

POSTED: Sunday, Oct. 04, 2009

Students pack WCC as economy falters

BELLINGHAM - People don't need to look any further than Whatcom Community College's campus to see the impacts of the economy.

Enrollment is up, funding is down, and more non-traditional students are turning to WCC to gain job skills.

"Students are coming to us really believing this is the option, this is the opportunity they need to be able to improve their lives," said Trish Onion, vice president of Educational Services.

Enrollment has jumped from about the equivalent of 3,047 full-time students in September 2008, which was a large increase over 2007, to the equivalent of about 3,429 full-time students this September.

Historically school enrollment rises as the economy drops. WCC is seeing that, with many students telling advisors they're enrolling to make themselves more marketable, learn a new skill in a high-demand field or because they can't afford to attend a four-year university.

But the enrollment increase is likely larger, Onion said, adding that the increases "don't seem to reflect the volume of students we're seeing."

This could be because some students have dropped to part time for financial issues. Tuition increased 7 percent this academic year to help cover some shortfalls in state funding. The financial aid office has seen almost a 40 percent increase in applications, with more than 1,700 students applying for aid for this fall, compared to about 1,200 in fall 2008.

On Sept. 1, the last day for students to pay tuition in order to register, about 1,200 students were dropped because they didn't pay, a 15 percent increase over fall 2008. Some of those students later paid and enrolled.

Some students have dropped to part time because they haven't been able to get into the classes they need. College officials and instructors reworked class schedules and locations over the summer to try to accommodate as many students as possible, especially in the popular English, math and science classes, Onion said. But the college is limited by physical space, and about 750 students were on wait lists for classes at the start of school. Officials don't know how many students were unable to get classes at this point.

The economy is also reflected in the Worker Retraining Program, which helps people who have been laid off or need to learn a new skill to change careers. As of the end of September, the program at WCC was serving 128 students, or the equivalent of 107 full-time students. Program officials were aiming to serve the equivalent of 42 full-time students.

The program has $67,600 to use in assisting students with tuition for the school year, said program director Brian Davidson. Dislocated workers used to be able to get assistance with a variety of living expenses, but last school year Davidson had to cut back the support to cover only tuition due to the increase in demand.

Even with paying only for tuition, the program already has used about 58 percent of the school year's funding. Davidson expects to run out of money during winter quarter.

"We won't turn anyone away," he said. "I'll still be able to be there to assist them in finding money to pay for life and to pay for school ... but some will have to self-pay."

Overall, WCC is serving more students than ever, but state funding isn't coming for all of them. WCC receives about $4,800 from the state per full-time student equivalent, up to 2,429 students. That means WCC, which has a philosophy to reach as many students as possible, doesn't receive state funding for any additional enrollment.

"The message is that everyone is working very hard to meet the students' needs and we're committed to student success and we're trying to be as creative and innovative as we can in collaborating with community partners and agencies," said Linda Maier, dean for workforce education. "The demand is strong, but we're going to need more resources."