The dip in current enrollment at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is apparently just a breather in a five-year upward trend that has seen a 38 percent increase in student population. Gaye McConnell, vice president of student services and enrollment management at Rowan-Cabarrus. “The rapid increase in enrollment that we experienced over the last few years was unsustainable from an operational perspective. We could not have handled continuous growth at that rate,” said Carl M. Short, chair of the Rowan-Cabarrus Board of Trustees. “Therefore, we’re glad to see that the enrollment has leveled off a bit. We hope that this will give us the ability to do more program development. We’ve wanted to further explore new areas of growth, but we have not had the resources to dedicate to that effort. Now we will be able to do so.”

Rowan-Cabarrus has 6,500 students enrolled, vs. 7,067 students last year. Historically, community college enrollment increases when unemployment increases and vice versa. This pattern is true today. Over the course of 2011, employment numbers improved somewhat with unemployment in Rowan County going from 12 percent to 10.6 percent and from 10.8 percent to 9.4 percent in Cabarrus County (based upon the most recently available numbers from November 2011).

“The college is hearing from students that they have had discontinue their studies and find some kind of work, often part-time, because unemployment benefits have run out,” said McConnell. “We have also heard similar feedback from surrounding community colleges with colleges reporting anywhere from a 2 percent to 12 percent decrease in enrollment.” In the fall semester, the North Carolina Community College System as a whole experienced a decline in curriculum student enrollment.

“We want people to get back to work. If that means our enrollment plateaus, then I’m happy the economy is improving,” said Dr. Carol S. Spalding, president of the college. With the short-term training programs experiencing increases in enrollment, conversely, the longer-term associate degree programs have declined slightly.

More students are pursuing certificates to upgrade marketable skills and to quickly transition back into the workforce.“As our students have gotten new jobs, or have been called back into work as in the case of Freightliner, Rowan-Cabarrus has worked to accommodate student schedules by rearranging their classes. We our students to be able to finish what they came here for, while still working and providing for their families,” said Gaye McConnell, vice president of student services. “We’re also taking a close look at course scheduling to improve student retention and enrollment. We are planning a series of focus groups this semester to review when and where our students might prefer classes to be offered.”

“My biggest concern, however, is that people in our community are losing hope. I’m afraid that the bleak economic outlook is causing people to become discouraged and think that education doesn’t matter, that nothing is going to help them get a job,” Spalding said. “The reality is that the economy will recover at some point. Maybe not as fast as we’d like, but it will. Improving your skills will only enhance your job prospects.”