By Kenney Kost/managing editor
Eric Rebosio/The Collegian
Spring district enrollment figures are down slightly from last year with 46,011 students this semester as of Jan. 13, the last official registration day.
The number is 230 students less than at the same time last spring. With such a small number, it can be hard to pinpoint a direct cause of the drop-off districtwide. The individual campus numbers are more telling.
The biggest change in numbers is from the TR Campus, which is up 10 percent to 7,874 students. TR registrar Jerry Racioppi said this could be attributed to the campus’ determination for student success.
“We live by our hallmarks, philosophy and the way we do business,” he said. “The tone is set by our first hallmark, which is an unshakeable focus on student learning.”
NE Campus’ numbers went down slightly. Vice president of academic affairs Gary Smith said several factors could play into the numbers.
“I think there are three possibilities on NE Campus,” he said. “One is that our economy is improving and people may be going into the workforce. Another is that the road construction [North Tarrant Express] is problematic. It’s all around us, and the unpredictability of that may play a role in the decline. The third thing is that we have had eight technical programs removed from NE Campus over the last few semesters, which is a pretty big number when you think about it.”
South registrar John Spencer said the district numbers may reflect the fact that this semester started one week earlier than previous spring semesters, which normally start after Martin Luther King Jr. Day, making the registration window smaller for students.
The totals went up starting a few years ago because of the bad economic climate, said NE financial aid specialist Danchees Ingram.
“A number that small districtwide can be chalked up to economic climate and the fact that it has gotten a little better so people may be heading back out into the workforce,” she said. “Since we had more and more people enrolling over the past couple of years, it is also possible that many of them are finishing up and transferring or getting their certificates and looking for jobs.”
