Clark State, Witt spring enrollment drops slightly amid national growth

“It’s encouraging to see this second straight year of growth in spring freshmen and dual-enrolled high school students,” said Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. “However, community colleges still face significant declines in adult learners, who have been opting out of college in larger numbers since the start of the pandemic.”

Undergraduate enrollment remained steady this spring at 0.2%, following two straight years of steep pandemic-related losses, according to the Clearinghouse. Only the public four-years continued to experience undergraduate enrollment declines at 0.9%, with total enrollment remaining unchanged since last spring.

Clark State’s spring enrollment declined by 377 students from this spring to last spring, according to college officials.

Although enrollment has slightly declined, Travis Binkley, dean of enrollment services, said the college has experienced stable enrollment from pre-pandemic through post-pandemic.

“Since the pandemic has ended, we are seeing strong retention rates. This strong retention is specifically seen in nursing, manufacturing programs, and non-credit trainings,” he said. “We are excited for a strong recruiting strategy that incorporates a career focus.”

Binkley noted the return of on campus activities with student life and enrollment events, and increased visitation from high school partners is helping with the enrollment and retention rates.

The college’s enrollment included a 111-student decline in freshmen and 127 student decline in dual-enrolled high school students. However, Binkley said they have also seen equally stable enrollment in College Credit Plus (CCP) from pre-pandemic through the pandemic.

“We are continuing to partner with area high schools for pathways at the high school, on our campuses, or online,” he said. “We (also have) offered three evening Open House events for CCP that allowed families to learn about the program and how it could save them money and allow the students to get a jumpstart on their career.”

Wittenberg’s enrollment slightly declined, by eight students, from 1,143 last spring to 1,135 this spring, according to university officials.

“We are beginning to see positive indicators that new undergraduate enrollment is rebounding for certain populations, but there is still a great deal of work to be done in recruiting students back to in-person classes and on-campus college experiences at pre-pandemic levels,” said Maribeth Stevens, vice president for enrollment management.

“We also anticipate that the recovering growth in community college new first-time enrollment this spring will ultimately lead to a future pipeline of transfer students who will be seeking to complete their bachelor’s degrees,” she added.

The university’s enrollment included an 82-student increase in first year students, while dual-enrolled students stayed the same at 16.

“Dual-enrollment students will continue to be an important part of our population at Wittenberg as we expand our relationships with high schools throughout the region” Stevens said.

She said students and families are seeing the benefit of college courses, both from a financial and university preparation standpoint, as a way to accelerate their bachelor’s degree programs.

Enrollment only increased among younger undergraduate students, while older age groups of 21 and above continue to decline, according to the Clearinghouse.

Although reports show an increase in younger students, Clark State showed an overall decrease, while Wittenberg showed an increase for some.

At Clark State, enrollment of all ages decreased from last spring to this spring, with ages 60+ having the lowest decline of 14 students and ages 25 to 39 having the highest decline of 173 students.

Wittenberg students ages 19 and 21 had the highest increase in enrollment, with a 76 student increase for those aged 19 and a nine student increase for those aged 21. All other ages from 17 to 26 had a decline.

Enrollment for undergraduate men saw a slight increase at 0.7%, while women enrollment continued to decline at 0.9%, according to the Clearinghouse. However, both genders at Clark State declined, while Wittenberg mirrored the national trend.

Both men and women enrollment at Clark State declined by 84 male students from 1,781 in 2022 to 1,697 in 2023, and 293 female students from 3,480 in 2022 to 3,187 in 2023.

At Wittenberg, male enrollment increased by 2% from 45% in 2022 to 47% in 2023, while female enrollment decreased 3% with 55% in 2022 and 52% in 2023.

To help make it easier for students to enroll and complete health programs, Clark State has a new dean of health, human, and public services that’s making changes, and students also have the option to obtain three different bachelor degrees at the same price, Binkley said.

“We are excited about the outlook for the future of enrollment,” he said.