California community college enrollment is decreasing, so Citrus College is implementing new programs to help attract and retain students.
COVID-19 has forced many Citrus students to drop out and help support their families during this time, Superintendent/President Dr. Geraldine M. Perri said in an email interview.
Citrus has also seen a large decline in international student enrollment as a result of pandemic-related restrictions, Perri said.
“International student enrollment has declined by half in the pandemic, so that’s another area where we have been hit hard for enrollment,” Dean of Enrollment Gerald Sequeira said.
Sequeira said Citrus College has the 14th largest international student population in the state and 38th in the country.
The college is facing unusual circumstances, Vice President of Student Services Richard Rams said. Typically, when the economy is down, as it is now, higher enrollment rates occur because when people are out of work they go back to school. But that is not the case right now.
Rams said this may be because the state is giving out financial aid to those who are unemployed because of the pandemic, or students are choosing to stay home with their families rather than attend college.
However, the decline in enrollment is not just due to COVID-19. Citrus College has seen an overall decline in enrollment for a while.
“Year-over-year, Citrus College is currently facing a 13% decline in full-time equivalent students,” Perri said.
With fewer full-time equivalent students enrolled, the college will receive less funding and grants from the government. This prevents the college from being able to “scale up new programs, initiatives or services,” Perri said.
As a result of lower enrollment, the state has put temporary funding protections in place; but if enrollment is not restored soon, Perri said community colleges in California may be in danger.
Since Citrus and nearly every other community college in California has seen a decline in enrollment, the state implemented a hold-harmless provision: a guarantee that community colleges in California will still receive funding from the government during the pandemic to prevent the institutions from seeing a sharp, negative effect, Rams said.
“However, there could be longer-term effects if we don’t see our enrollment start to trend in the right direction,” Rams said.
To combat this, Citrus College administrators are creating a plan to attract and retain students. They started new programs to help make current and prospective students feel more comfortable during remote learning.
The money that is being given to the institutions through the hold-harmless provision can only be used for enrollment purposes, Sequeira said.
Citrus College proposed several activities to help boost enrollment for the next academic year.
Virtual outreach events, ads to target prospective and current students, online registration assistance, more counseling and advisement services, fast-track and late start classes are a few of the many resources that are underway, Perri said.
Sequeira said that Citrus is working to help the students who stopped attending during the pandemic get registered for the fall semester.
“One of the big things is we reached out to the students that stopped attending and we surveyed them and tried to find out what kind of resources they need so that we can offer those resources,” Sequeira said. “We also got for those that were interested in getting a phone call from us so that we can assist them, and we got over 500 students to respond.”
Rams said Citrus College has acknowledged “the role of counseling and financial aid is critical,” so administration has set up campaigns and events for prospective students and their families to make sure they know how to access financial aid resources.
The unprecedented conditions of the pandemic and economic downturn made it difficult for students to commit to going to college, Rams said. Many students are grappling with the question of if it is safe to return to school and study.
Citrus is hoping to get all of its students back on campus as soon as it is safe, Rams said. The college began an incremental reopening with more courses said to return in the fall under the yellow tier of its plan.
