Mich. Community Colleges See Fewer Students

September 30, 2011 8:59 AM

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DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Times are hard these days for many Michigan community colleges. As WWJ’s Rob Sanford reports, enrollment figures are going down.

Sanford said the numbers are surprising. Enrollment at the state’s 28 community colleges is down four percent this year and the number of credit hours being taken has decreased by six percent.

There are several reasons for the decrease, but the two biggest include the loss of federal funds for worker retraining and a change in health insurance that expanded a student exemption, where part-time students may stay on their parents’ health insurance policies.

Some colleges say they have planned related declines in tuition money and budgeted accordingly. Others say they’re cutting instructors.

Metro Detroit community colleges have been largely unaffected, but Grand Rapids Community College has seen a credit hour drop of 1.8 percent and Lansing Community College had an eight percent drop.

Community Colleges make their tuition revenue by the amount of credit hours being taken by students.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mich. Community Colleges See Fewer Students

http://www.grcc.edu grcctoday

Grand Rapids Community College’s decline in enrollment from 2010 to 2011 was not 18 percent as the Detroit Free Press erroneously reported. Take a look at the numbers in the table and do the math.
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[...] DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – Times are hard these days for many Michigan community colleges. As WWJ’s Rob Sanford reports, enrollment figures are going down. [...] Metro Detroit community colleges have been largely unaffected, but Grand Rapids Community College has seen a credit hour drop of 18 percent and Lansing Community College had an eight percent drop. [Note: This story originated from a Detroit Free Press story which erroneously reported GRCC's Fall enrollment declined 18 percent from 2010-2011.] (More) [...]
http://derekdevries.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/a-case-study-in-the-declining-editorial-filter-of-the-mainstream-media/ A Case Study in the Declining Editorial Filter of the Mainstream Media « Derek DeVries – Imprudent Loquaciousness

[...] DETROIT (WWJ/AP) – Times are hard these days for many Michigan community colleges. As WWJ’s Rob Sanford reports, enrollment figures are going down. [...] Metro Detroit community colleges have been largely unaffected, but Grand Rapids Community College has seen a credit hour drop of 18 percent and Lansing Community College had an eight percent drop. (More) [...]