(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s 15 community colleges continue to see a drop off in enrollment from its peak. Alison Jepsen of the Department of Education’s Division of Community Colleges says there were some 127-thousand people enrolled in the schools in the last academic year. “This is a decline of one-point-three percent from the previous year and this follows a national trend, as enrollment most recently peaked during the onset of the Great Recession, and has decreased an average of two-point-two percent since 2012,” Jepsen says.

She says high school kids who are taking community college classes are now a big part of the enrollment. “Joint enrollment of high school students increased two-point-four percent in academic year 19-20 — to a record high of 51-thousand-800 students,” according to Jepsen. “This demographic accounted for 40-point-eight percent of total enrollment, and 25-point-six percent of total credits.” The community colleges offer certificates and two-year degrees in a variety of fields. “The majority were in agriculture, automotive technology and repair, business, health sciences, information technology, engineering technology and manufacturing,” she says.

Jepsen says a record 69-thousand-614 students were enrolled in on-line credit courses. That is an 11 percent increase from the previous year. On-line noncredit enrollment increased 15-point-five percent to 14-thousand-123 students. You can see the full report on the Department of Education website at: https://educateiowa.gov/documents/iowa-state-board-education/2021/01/2021-01-28-condition-community-colleges