From fall 2022 to fall 2023, Cosumnes River College saw a boost in enrollment by 11%, said Interim Vice President of Student Services Tadael Emiru.
Enrollment numbers dropped due to the pandemic but are now coming back, said Associate Vice President of Instruction and Student Learning Michael Lawlor.
“The campus is improving significantly and we are close to recovering the pandemic losses,” Lawlor said.“We have just about 1% fewer enrollments than the same point in pre-pandemic fall 2019.”
The pandemic officially ending was just one factor out of many to contribute to the boost, said Public Information Officer Kristie West.
“Enrollment at higher educational institutions can vary significantly depending on many factors. The pandemic was one factor, but economics can also be a factor,” West said. “Students have busy, complex lives and responsibilities and we want to make sure that while there may be times our enrollment declines, we will be here for our community when they are ready to seek higher educational goals.”
Emiru said that the hike in enrollment numbers is due to a variety of reasons.
“We’re trying to make sure that we have a good balance of in person and online courses, so that students have the choice in terms of the modality,” Emiru said.
Emiru said he believes that a large part of the school’s success was caused by how the school is not just trying to gain students, but make sure that their current students are doing well.
“We are focused on making sure that our students are successfully completing their program of study, so it’s a good thing that we have a significant jump in terms of overall enrollment,” Emiru said.