By Tabi Secor
First day enrollment numbers at the college are down 5 percent from last year, according to Pete Belk, director, Admissions.
The first day count came in at 17,245, which is around 850 students less than this time last year.
Even though the numbers are lower than previous years, Belk said what the college really looks at are the census numbers that are made available to the state on the 20th day of classes.
They also look at end of semester statistics.
“That end of the semester number is really where we be- come the largest undergraduate institution in the state,” Belk said. “We are not as concerned with first day numbers. Last year we were also down first day, but then late start classes and College Now kind of bring things up, and we ended up being up for the year.”
One thing Belk knows is that students are returning.
“The largest population that is increasing on campus is the returning student population,” he said. “So we are retaining more students than we have before.”
Although the Admissions department has not been told to do anything differently in terms of recruiting students, Mysti Meiers, recruitment specialist, said it does push the staff to work harder.
“Just the knowledge that that we may be down in enrollment kind of encourages us to get out there and be more aggressive in our efforts,” she said.
The college has also hired a new diversity recruiter, Melisa Jimenez, who will work directly with minorities in order to increase the number of students from different areas to the school.
“I’m going to be visiting high schools in Wyandotte County, some parts of Missouri, but I am going to be specifically working with diverse populations,” Jimenez said. “My goal for this first year is to really develop relationships with schools, with school counselors, with staff that is in charge of these specific demographics, so ELL, ESL teachers.”
She went on to say she hopes to put the college out there in a way that will meet the needs of diverse students.
“If I have to do something in Spanish, I will be able to do a presentation in Spanish,” she said. “If I have to meet families because, you know, studying the dynamic of some Hispanic families is more collective, so much of the time it is a family decision that is made.”
Meiers concentrates on Johnson, Franklin, and Miami counties.
“[Jimenez] and I’s charge really is to go out into the public, and bring awareness to Johnson County Community College to students with the ambitions of bringing them to campus,” she said.
Casey Wallace, student visit coordinator, said that around 3,000 potential students visit the college each year and are likely to attend.
“If we can get them to campus, we can get them to enroll,” she said.
Contact Tabi Secor, news editor, at tsecor@jccc.edu.