The total number of students projected to enroll at Guilford by 2009 has dropped from 3,338 to 2,867. The Strategic Long Range Planning Committee’s (SLRP) projections for CCE enrollment fell short. The original goal of 1,792 CCE students by March 2009 has been readjusted to 1,252.
CCE students bring more revenue to Guilford than any other student group. The CCE program saves the college money, because most continuing education students are North Carolina residents. In-state residents get more state financial aid.
According to a recent memo to the board of trustees, the 540 CCE enrollment gap will result “in an annual drop in revenue of $2 million.”
“The revenue from the CCE program funds a lot of capital projects on campus like remodeling and raises for the faculty,” said Adrienne Israel, vice president for academic affairs. “The number of faculty we have depends on the number of students. Some programs we hoped would have a larger faculty no longer will.”
But, according to the trustees’ memo, “Long overdue raises in faculty and staff salaries (will still be) fundable with 2,867 students.”
“When the budget was created, an unrealistic number of CCE students was projected for 2009,” said CCE Dean Rita Serotkin. “They were projecting a growth of about 500, which is huge. The budget has been realigned to be more realistic. Right now, the numbers project no growth. But I am certainly looking to do better then 0 percent.”
When SLRP originally presented Guilford’s enrollment goals for 2009, the projected number of CCE students outnumbered that of traditional students by 346.
To compensate for the lack of CCE growth, an increase of 74 traditional-age students has been proposed.
“In response to lower enrollments on the CCE side, we are focusing on traditional-age enrollment instead,” said Budget Committee Chair Heather Hayton. “In a way, it reaffirms our commitment to being a traditional-age liberal arts college. But if we really believe that education can change the world, then the CCE program will remain incredibly important to us.”
“As hard as we try to bridge the CCE-traditional student divide, there are some ways it won’t happen,” said Aaron Fetrow, dean of campus life. “This is a community campus; you learn here and you live here. The adult students have families and careers; they aren’t going to be able to hang out in the Greenleaf at 11 at night. If we have more traditional than adult students, it lives up to our identity.”
The lack of continued growth in CCE enrollment is partially due to increased competition. Competition for adult students has grown recently due to online education opportunities and increased competition from local colleges such as Greensboro College and A & T.
“Our biggest concern is other colleges in the area jumping on the bandwagon,” Serotkin said. “We have a reputation here; if people come to us they are going to get a good education. I recently did a survey of CCE students, and they loved the place; they loved the classes. Personal attention, small classes, challenging, informal approach – those are things you won’t find at other schools. Yes, competition hurts us to an extent, but we still have a niche.