A typical MCCC student is a white female about 25 years old.
Steve Mapes, associate professor of Counseling, presented MCCC’s 2012 Student Profile Report at the MCCC Board of Trustees meeting Monday.
The average student is attending college part-time and is looking for a transfer degree, Mapes said.
That is a change from 2011, when the number of transfer students was even with the number of students seeking occupational degrees.
This year, the percent of transfer students rose to 53 percent.
Mapes noted that enrollment is up among out-of-county residents. There was an increase in students over last year from all of the surrounding counties, including 26 more students from Trenton and 12 more from the Belleville/Ypsilanti area.
Mapes explained that while the college gained male students going part-time, it is losing working adult students, ages 21 to 30.
“Hopefully, that means they’re going back to work,” Mapes said.
Females outnumber males 2,408 to 1,663, and 74.9 percent of the student body is white. The largest minority is African American, at 3.4 percent, and 2.7 percent are Hispanic. Of the total, 17.9 percent did not report an ethnic background.
Of the career programs, Health is the largest with 710 students, followed by Business, 601; Industrial, 362; Humanities/Social Sciences (mostly Criminal Justice), 160; and Science/Math (mostly Early Childhood), 95.
Monroe High School’s 2012 graduating class sent the most students to MCCC – 119, followed by Bedford, 67, Jefferson, 63, Airport, 58 and Ida, 50.
Ida had the highest percentage – 38 percent of its graduating class came to MCCC, compared to 36 percent for Jefferson, 30 percent for Monroe and Airport, and only 19 percent from Bedford. The average for all county schools was 26 percent.
The board also heard a report on enrollment for Fall semester, which is down 8 percent from the previous year.
Enrollment is down in almost all areas and a number of factors could be contributing to the decline, according to Mark Hall, director of Admissions and Guidance Services.
“I just don’t think they’re going to college,” Hall said. “They are community residents; we need to help them.”
MCCC will continue its recruiting efforts by getting into more high schools in more areas, including Northwest Ohio, he said.
The economy also is a factor in the enrollment decline, and MCCC isn’t the only college feeling the sting.
Community college enrollment is down nationally by 2.2 percent, according to John Joy, dean of Corporate and Community Services.
“Generally speaking, overall enrollments are the same,” Joy said. “It could be better.”
He told the board that when the economy improves and employment rises, enrollment numbers go down.
In other business, the board recognized the retirement of Sharon Gray, Practical Nursing Program coordinator. Vice Chairman Bill Braunlich presented her with a plaque.
“She has inspired countless nursing students across the state,” he said.
Gray was all smiles as she accepted the frame.
“The greatest reward is seeing students become very successful,” Gray said.
