More students are taking classes at Ohio’s largest community colleges this fall compared to the same time last year, a welcome boost as higher education confronts challenges that include a shrinking state population and increased political pressures.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College’s enrollment sits at 10,701 students, or a 10% increase. Dayton’s Sinclair Community College is seeing 7% more students, bringing its enrollment to 20,471. Those figures both come from preliminary data recently shared by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
Columbus State Community College saw an 8% year-over-year increase, bringing its total enrollment to 30,488 students, according to data the school shared with Signal Ohio.
Data provided by other institutions shows more modest year-over-year rises.
Cuyahoga Community College reports a total enrollment of 17,993, nearly a 1% uptick. Lorain County Community College’s total enrollment increased 3% to 9,733 students. Stark State College’s total enrollment came in at 10,534, about a 1% increase.
Most of Ohio’s community college students attend one of these six institutions, though the state has 22 two-year public colleges.
National data shows certificates, health programs driving community college growth
Ohio’s increases mirror national trends. Early data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows two-year public colleges across the country are reporting a 4% uptick in students this fall compared to the same time last year. That’s bigger than the growth seen by public and private four-year universities.
The Clearinghouse’s national findings pointed to several potential drivers for the increase. More students are enrolled in certificate programs, which have long been a cornerstone of community colleges’ offerings. There’s also more interest in health, automotive technology and engineering programs.
That all aligns with what’s happening at Stark State, according to the college’s vice president of enrollment management, Rich Greene. Like most community colleges, Greene said the school is well-attuned to local workforce needs. Health care and manufacturing are among Stark County’s leading industries.
“The Northeast Ohio labor market is driving a lot of interest towards short-term certification programs,” he said.
This marks the fourth consecutive fall semester of enrollment increases for two-year schools nationwide. Community college enrollments took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately affected women and/or people of color. Those two groups comprise the majority of community college students.
Dual enrollment grows in Ohio
Dual enrollment continues to be a bright spot for the state’s community colleges. Ohio’s seen explosive growth in College Credit Plus, the state program that allows middle and high school students to take college classes for little to no cost.
Those students can then put earned credits towards a career certificate or eventually transfer them to another higher education institution. Participating colleges get an enrollment – and financial – bump when students take courses through their institution.
Ohio has a higher percentage of high schoolers taking college classes than other states. But, as Signal Ohio reported last year, far more of the state’s white students are taking college courses than their Black peers.
About one in five people enrolled at Tri-C students are College Credit Plus students. LCCC (41%), Cincinnati State (38%), Sinclair (32%) and Columbus State (30%) report even higher dual enrollment rates.
Dual enrollment students make up more than 40% of Stark State’s total enrollment this fall. Greene said the group is “invaluable” to the school’s bottom line by offering an additional income stream.
He believes these College Credit Plus offerings are another way the college shows its community commitment. Greene said he talks with local K-12 superintendents to learn what they want from a college partner. Those conversations led Stark State to help local high school teachers get certified to teach college-level classes in their own buildings.
He also stresses to students and their families that earning credits now may help save money by reducing the number of classes they’ll need to take – and pay for themselves – down the road.
“If you do it right, you can have 30, 40 credit hours accumulated by the time you graduate high school,” he said.
Greene estimates about 20% of dual enrollment students eventually re-enroll at the college.