Enrollment Capacity

Increasing enrollment and limited classroom space at community colleges have been a huge issue in recent years. States throughout the nation have announced record student enrollments for the current academic year. A sluggish economy, peak numbers of high school graduates, and great rates of high school students entering college immediately upon graduation have all contributed to these record enrollments. Another contributing factor is the rise in the proportions of ethnic minorities participating in higher education. These enrollments are taking place during a time of declining state support, calls for tuition increases, and an uncertain academic environment. In response, many states, including California, have capped enrollment at their public universities and California was the only state to limit community college enrollment. Enrollments at community colleges have surged tremendously. These institutions, with their emphasis on accessibility and affordability, have experienced the greatest spike in student enrollment in the past year. However, these institutions' ability to absorb these enrollments is questionable. As high as one third of students indicated that their state's community colleges did not have sufficient capacity to meet current or future enrollment demands. However, by being more efficient with our current resources, it is highly possible to increase the college's enrollment capacity.

It starts with reallocating space to accommodate more sections for more students. An extensive evaluation of current classroom allocation will be conducted. Comparisons of departments and the number of sections taught by each department will be determined. With this information, more or less rooms can be assigned appropriately. Larger rooms can be used by departments with larger class sizes, and smaller rooms go to departments with smaller class sizes. By do this; every room on campus can be used to its maximum capacity. From a marketing point of view, colleges can then aggressively and strategically build enrollment in departments and classrooms with open space. Existing buildings can also be refitted to take advantage of modern technology and not waste any space.

Refurnishing the campus and classrooms will allow more students to fit inside the classrooms. Desks can be added to maximize seating capacity. Desks can be swapped out for tables, or vice versa, to make room conducive for courses that are taught there. Unnecessary items, like cabinets for example, take up lots of space. By removing them from rooms that do not need it, classes will open up for more students to enroll. If these steps are accomplished, sections will definitely increase, possibly even double. These are not hard to accomplish and can be done with careful planning and a little imagination.

Strategic scheduling of start and end dates of courses will allow more classes to be offered by the college and more students to enroll. There are many