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Enrollment declines as work plan concludes

The end of Michigan’s No Worker Left Behind program apparently is causing enrollment in spring and summer classes to drop to 2007 levels.

“Our spring/summer enrollment has declined, predominately due to the ending of No Worker Left Behind,” said Mark Hall, the director of admissions and guidance services at MCCC.

The program, sponsored by the State of Michigan, required students to enroll full-time during the spring and summer semesters, Hall said.

“We are continuing to get the same number of students who enroll from four-year schools coming home for the summer,” he said. “Next year’s level should be comparable to this current year.”

The No Worker Left Behind program was signed into law by Michigan’s former Gov. Jennifer Granholm in 2007. The program provided unemployed and displaced workers with two free years of training or community college. The program launched in August 2007.

Spring enrollment for 2007 was 1,429 students. It reached its peak in 2009 with 1,624 and began to decline in 2010 when only 1,592 signed up. This year had 1,494 students.

MCCC’s President Dr. David Nixon was not concerned with the decline from last year’s numbers, calling it “statistically insignificant.”

“Joblessness is still driving enrollment,” Nixon said.

“Where will students go to seek skill sets for becoming lawyers, teachers, nurses, welders, nuclear technicians, and electric car manufacturers? And at a price they can afford? Monroe County Community College and other post-secondary