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Eastern Gateway Reports 1% Rise in Enrollment
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio -- Eastern Gateway Community College is one of two such colleges in Ohio to report initial enrollment increases for the fall semester. The other 21 two-year colleges preliminarily reported drops in enrollment, some as much as 20%.
Eastern Gateway reports a modest 1% growth in headcount, says Patty Sturch, dean of enrollment management. "The trend across the state and the nation is for downward enrollment this fall, so I am happy to report that we have increases in our first-year students as well as the number of students taking at least one online class this semester,” she says. “The college continues to see strong enrollment growth in Mahoning and Trumbull counties."
Sturch also reported a 6% increase in students staying on from the spring semester and that the pass rate of 75.3% at Eastern Gateway is above the state average for two-year colleges.
The first official enrollment reports are due from all colleges and universities next week to the Ohio Board of Regents.
Statewide, enrollment at public colleges and universities appears to be declining as a result of many factors including the transition of many public universities and community colleges to semesters from a quarters and fewer high school graduates, Ohio Association of Community Colleges figures show. Eastern Gateway, the former Jefferson Community College, converted to semesters in 1995.
Recent changes in the federal Pell grant program have also tightened restrictions on eligibility. Under one change, the maximum income for an automatic zero expected family contribution has been reduced to $23,000 from $32,000, which eliminates 12,000 students from qualifying for an average Pell Grant of $4,098.
Under another change, students receiving the minimum Pell grant award of $555 no longer qualify. This means about 3,000 students will not receive this money, according to the Association of Community College Trustees.
Employment is rebounding in many areas of the state. Outreach among some students who chose not to return indicates having a job is more important to them.
At a board of trustees meeting, Curtis Truss Jr., executive director of the Operator Training Committee of Ohio, called OTCO’s partnership with the college to develop a new associate’s degree in environmental science a "great fit. Eastern Gateway in collaboration with OTCO provides for transfer of a student’s water/wastewater treatment work experience and OTCO certificate of course completion to the associate of applied science degree in environmental science with a water/wastewater major," he noted. "At OTCO, the student’s training is 60% in class and 40% hands-on."
At the same meeting, Molly Seals, senior vice president of human resources and learning for the eastern division of Catholic Healthcare Partners and Humility of Mary Health Partners, was sworn in as a trustee.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.