SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. - The pandemic is continuing to impact community college enrollments.
Cindy Haney, vice president for Enrollment Management at LCCC, said rising hourly wages may be contributing to would-be students opting out of school.
“A lot of our students have decided to go right into the workforce to help provide funds for their family,” Haney said.
Haney also said changes to standardized testing requirements for admission to four-year colleges and universities may have something to do with the decline.
“Some of the local colleges and universities are waiving their placement testing, like SAT, ACT exams,” Haney said. “So students who typically would have gone to the community college first are now getting accepted into those four-year colleges and universities.”
Where LCCC has seen a rise is in the percentage of former students returning to the college.
Haney said there is around a 20% increase in readmitted students enrolling for the fall term. This could be related to the school’s recent decision to use federal pandemic relief aid to cancel the debt of more than 1,000 students.
“They don't have to worry about paying off any old balances they might owe the college,” Haney said.
Classes for LCCC’s fall term begin on Aug. 21.