Merced College enrollment climbs

Enrollment at Merced College is up slightly compared to last fall, according to numbers reported by the school this week.

At 4,180 full-time equivalent students, Merced College has 116 more this fall than last fall, an increase of about 2.85 percent.

The numbers won’t be final for a few more weeks, but officials don’t expect a large change from last year, said Susan Walsh, interim vice president of instruction.

“Statewide, we’re probably pretty static as a system as far as enrollment,” she said.

In recent years, changes to federal financial aid regulations have changed the focus of many community colleges. The funding no longer covers students who repeat a course they’ve already passed that is not required for transfer to a four-year school.

State leaders have said they want schools to get their students to move on in a timely fashion.

“We are really meant to be a place where students come, identify their goal, achieve their goal and move out into the world,” Walsh said.

The campus will add about a dozen nine-week courses, which are half the length of other classes, later this semester. She said the short-term classes help bump up enrollment.

The college has made other efforts to attract students. For the first time, the school held an event called “Extreme Registration” in August. About 100 people took advantage of the day, where they could register, talk to counselors and pick classes in about three hours.

Merced College spokesman Robin Shepard said the college was without a director for the Office of Relations With Schools for about a year. That office oversees many of the efforts to attract high school students.

He said now that the director position has been filled, the college has started back up with its programs, including one that sends student ambassadors to high schools.

Shepard said the college has also ramped up its marketing campaign. Listeners of local radio may have already heard the school’s “Merced College: I love this place” jingle.

“It’s a really great little commercial,” he said.

The campus has also joined a statewide effort called Minority Male Community College Collaborative. Michael McCandless, dean of equity and student success, said the collaborative includes a number of community colleges and is headed up by California State University, San Diego.

“The idea behind it is to provide some research, practice and dialogue for community colleges to join in helping to serve traditionally underserved groups,” he said.

The collaborative is aimed specifically at minority men. According to numbers from the collaborative, nationwide 17 percent of black men and 15 percent of Latino men earn a certificate, degree or transfer at community colleges.

In comparison, about 32 percent of white men at two-year schools go on to earn one of those certificates.

Men make up about 42 percent of Merced College’s enrollment, according to the latest numbers from the school. The largest identified ethnic population is Hispanic at 56 percent.

Figuring out the best ways to educate underserved groups is particularly important in Merced, McCandless said, given its demographics.

“It will allow us, hopefully, to innovatively and dynamically approach this to improve our success rates,” he said.

This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Merced College enrollment climbs."