Enrollment
isn’t up this year, but it isn’t down either. According
to Daryl Hendry, new EPCC Director of Admissions and Registrar, the
unofficial pre-census numbers for 2006 yields a drop of 14 students
for a grand total of 24,839 students versus 2005’s 24,853 count.
“Since these numbers are just preliminary, we might see them
go up a little,” said Hendry. Enrollment has been on a slight
incline since 2003.
This is Hendry’s first fall semester here at EPCC. Due to some
departmental reform on his part, we were all saved a little time and
headache. “I would go outside to the lines and do head counts,”
said Hendry, who spent tireless hours making improvements to the system.Hendry
said many things contributed to the drop, not just the recent Pell
grant cuts.
“Pell Grants aren’t a huge player for our school.”
He explained, “The economy is good right now, employment is
up. Most students tend to go to universities right now.”EPCC
is not the only college experiencing this flat-growth phenomenon.
Among state colleges comparable in size, the only reported growth
was at Houston CC, due to transfers from neighboring states as a result
of hurricane Katrina. Other junior colleges the flat growth rate is
a strong consistency.
