GREENSBORO, N.C. — The pandemic certainly effected every area of life but this one in a positive way.
Nationwide, enrollment at community colleges are seeing an uptick in students.
North Carolina Community colleges is seeing this growth as well. According to EducationNC, from 2020-2022, adult learner enrollment increased from 171,759 to 189,004.
Guilford Technical Community College president Dr. Anthony Clarke said during the pandemic Education and ESL classes took a major hit, but now numbers are soaring.
"As you may imagine, those classes really took a hit during the pandemic because we couldn't hold them face to face and the students for those classes tend to be students of color but we've come back really strong in that area - almost 23%," Dr. Clarke said.
Clarke said enrollment for persons of color increased by 23% at GTCC, and the school is projecting between a 3.6-4% increase for enrollment overall. The final results for the fall 2023 semester will not be completed until early January.
Forsyth Technical Community College is also seeing this rise with numbers surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
GTCC president Dr. Clarke says a reason for the trend is students are thinking of saving costs when it comes to their education.
"You know childcare and food insecurity are big problems but we can take care of is tuition and we can take care of fees and so let's get that off the table and then people can manage their money for other things. We have dual enrollment for high school students and we have found that those high school students and their parents are saving a lot of money," Dr. Clarke said.
According to Lending Tree, community college credit is 60% cheaper than a four-year public college.
Another reason for the trend is students may want that community college feel versus a big university.
"Connection with faculty and staff here it always gratifies me and to see how much they care for our students and that's where that sense of belonging and it gets students to realize that we want them here and we care about them," Dr. Clarke said.
