Fall Enrollment, 2020 October 2020 Enrollment Changes at Community Colleges

Fall Enrollment, 2020

October 2020

Enrollment Changes at Community Colleges

Summary

Enrollment at Tennessee community colleges in fall 2020 totaled 78,753 students, a decline of more than 10,000 students, or 11%, compared to enrollment in fall 2019. These enrollment declines represent the first significant drop at community colleges since Tennessee Promise was implemented in 2015. The declines in enrollment were seen across many student groups:

? enrollment among first-time, full-time freshmen dropped 19%,

? adults 25 and over declined 13%, and

? high school students dual-enrolled in college courses declined 9%.

The declines reflect a national trend at community colleges this year. Still, some Tennessee community colleges also saw some gains in dual enrollment; and retention rates for returning students remained stable. Additionally, Tennessee's community colleges awarded a record number of 15,874 degrees and technical certificates during the 2019-20 academic year ? a 44% increase from a decade ago.

Fall 2020 Enrollment Trends

Total Enrollment Declined 11%

In fall 2020, 78,753 students enrolled at TBR community colleges. This represented a decline of more than 10,000 students (or 11%) compared to enrollment in fall 2019.* Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment also declined 13%.

Enrollment declined at every Tennessee community college, but some schools saw a less significant decline. At Volunteer State, enrollment declined only 4%. At Dyersburg State, enrollment declined by fewer than 200 students (a 7% decline).

New, Full-Time Enrollment Declined 19%

All community colleges saw a decline in the number of students enrolling in college for the first time. The number of first-time, full-time freshmen fell 19% compared to fall 2019, a decline of 3,600 students. Additional data on the decline in first-time students is available in an interactive dashboard on the TBR website.

Change in First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen Enrollment, 2019 to 2020

College

Chattanooga Cleveland Columbia Dyersburg Jackson Motlow Nashville Northeast Pellissippi Roane Southwest Volunteer Walters All

Black Hispanic

-44%

-5%

15%

-27%

-33%

-25%

-34%

4%

-41%

-18%

-21%

-12%

-19%

-26%

-13%

-4%

-16%

-9%

-35%

-34%

-41%

-38%

-10%

-12%

-17%

-16%

-31%

-18%

White All FTFT

-21%

-22%

-16%

-16%

-16%

-18%

-7%

-13%

-24%

-23%

-9%

-12%

-19%

-19%

-15%

-15%

-16%

-15%

-26%

-25%

-18%

-35%

-17%

-16%

-18%

-19%

-17%

-19%

Retention of Current Students Remained Stable

Despite the decline in first-time enrollment, retention rates only declined one percentage point from last year, with 54% of students who began at a community college in 2019 returning in fall 2020. The relatively stable retention rate indicates that the enrollment declines witnessed across TBR community colleges were largely driven by fewer new students enrolling. The retention rate for Hispanic students had the largest decline from 60% to 55%, and the retention rate for Black students was the lowest at 44%.

* Preliminary fall 2020 enrollment is based on census enrollment data. Prior years are reported with official end-of-term data.

TBR | The College System of Tennessee / Office of Policy & Strategy

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Dual Enrollment Declined at Some Colleges, but Others Saw Gains

Community college dual enrollment declined 9% from fall 2019 to fall 2020, representing 1,500 fewer students. However, dual enrollment changes varied greatly across colleges. Southwest had the largest decline, with 37% fewer dual enrollment students participating in fall 2020 than in fall 2019. However, at Volunteer, dual enrollment in fall 2020 increased 7% compared to fall 2019.

Dual Enrollment Changes by College, 2019 to 2020

Volunteer Chattanooga Motlow Walters Jackson Dyersburg Columbia Cleveland Roane Pellissippi Northeast Nashville Southwest

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

Enrollment by Black and African American Students Declined Most Sharply

First-Time, Full-Time Freshmen Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity

15,000

12,000

White

-17%

9,000

6,000

3,000 0

Black Hispanic

2019

-31% -18%

2020

The most pronounced drops in enrollment were among Black students, especially Black males. Enrollment by Black students at community colleges declined 19%, and enrollment by Black male students dropped by nearly 25%. For first-time, full-time students, Black enrollment dropped 31% and Black male enrollment dropped 35%.

Adult Enrollment Fell Across the State

Enrollment by all adults (those age 25 and older) declined by 13%. Enrollment declines were larger for older students; students age 35 and older saw an enrollment decline of 17%.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Instruction

Enrollment by Students with Remediation Needs Decreased

Students requiring remediation were less likely to enroll in 2020 than their more academically prepared peers.

? The number of students with ACT scores below

19 declined 25% from fall 2019 to fall 2020.

? The number of students with GPAs below 3.0

dropped by 30%.

? Enrollment for students with a 3.6 or higher GPA

or at least a 26 on the ACT remained relatively consistent.

As a result, the average GPA and ACT for the fall 2020 cohort was higher than the previous year, and the number of students requiring learning support decreased by 3 percentage points to 55%.

Enrollment in Online & Hybrid Courses Nearly Doubled

The number of community college students enrolled in at least one online/remote course in fall 2020 increased 70% over fall 2019, and the number of students in hybrid courses doubled.

100,000

Headcount by Delivery Method

80,000 60,000

+70%

40,000 20,000

0

+101% -81%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Conventional

Hybrid

Online/Remote

TBR | The College System of Tennessee / Office of Policy & Strategy

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New Enrollment Declined in Most Programs

Consistent with the overall enrollment decline, most programs saw new enrollment drop. The degree of enrollment changes varied by program and college.

? University Parallel/Tennessee Transfer Pathway

programs, which enrolled about 75% of students in 2019 and 2020, saw a similar decline to the overall enrollment drop of 19%.

? Out of the seven programs with the highest

enrollment in 2019, some saw a less severe drop in enrollment, including Teaching, Business, and Security and Protective Services (like Criminal Justice).

? Other popular programs, including Computer

Information Technology and Health Professions experienced a more severe decline.

Top Programs of Study for First-Time, Full-Time Students:

Changes from 2019 to 2020

-19%

University Parallel

-16%

Business, Management, Marketing

-25%

Health Professions

-20%

Engineering Technologies

-8% Education

-23%

Computer & Information Sciences

-8% Security & Protective Services

-19%

All Programs

-35% -25% -15% -5%

The College System of Tennessee was able to quickly adapt to the changes required this year thanks to significant investment in advising, online education, and high impact teaching practices over the past decade. These investments coincided with other reforms that have put student success and equity at the forefront of college's work.

Now, as they face new challenges, Tennessee's openaccess community colleges have sharpened their focus on ensuring equitable access and success for each student.

? In October, TBR hosted 500 faculty, students, and staff for We All Rise, the state's largest conference focused on equity in higher education. People from colleges and universities across the state gathered virtually for workshops about teaching practices that promote equitable student success.

? As part of We All Rise, the 27 TCATs joined the 13 community colleges in becoming members of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national organization committed to helping close equity gaps. All 40 community and technical colleges in the College System of Tennessee are now part of the ATD Network ? one of only a few statewide systems whose entire membership is in ATD. Through this work, each college will develop action plans to promote student success and close equity gaps.

? All 40 community and technical colleges are engaged in strategic enrollment management (SEM) projects. Through this work, colleges are developing long-term enrollment goals and implementing deliberate strategies for recruitment and retention.

Programs are ordered by 2019 enrollment.

Conclusions and Next Steps

As 2020 brought unparalleled challenges to higher education, Tennessee community colleges have seen the impact of those challenges in enrollment declines and the persistence of equity gaps. Despite these challenges, TBR community colleges are maintaining retention rates and increasing the number of awards granted.

While colleges across the state still have more work to do, the state's community and technical colleges are prepared to meet these challenges and are taking action to ensure student access, promote student success, and close equity gaps.

TBR | The College System of Tennessee / Office of Policy & Strategy

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