SIERRA VISTA — Cochise College enrollment remains stable after a post-recession bubble, while the University of Arizona South has more students than ever before, as college students settle into fall terms.
One day after the last day to drop or add classes, the unduplicated headcount at Cochise College was 4,372, which is 1 percent less than last year. Its duplicated headcount, which counts some student twice and reflects course-load, is up 2 percent.
This basically puts the college back where it was in 2008, before it experienced two years of significant growth, followed by two years of significant decline. President J.D. Rottweiler said this bubble was likely caused by the recession and the subsequent stabilization was anticipated, though the college actually budgeted for fewer students, to be conservative.
Meanwhile, the University of Arizona (UA) South has seen its enrollment climb in fits and starts, reaching its highest point on record this year, with an unduplicated headcount of 1,059, according to preliminary figures. Considering the next highest year was 2011, with 988, there’s enough of a cushion that it will likely remain the highest year when the data firms up.
There has been a 10 percent increase at UA Sierra Vista, while 75 percent more students have accessed the university’s programs and services at the Douglas campus of Cochise College, where it has a small presence, according to Jim Shockey, dean of UA South. In Sierra Vista, the university has an advisor working side-by-side with Cochise College staff in the college student union, making it easier for students looking to transfer.
“That connection’s working here,” Shockey said.
The university is doing so many things to try to connect with students, it’s hard to identify one cause but the enrollment shows that they are getting more students accessing UA’s services through Santa Cruz and Cochise County, he said. That’s good, because it’s central to the school’s mission.
In addition to making it easier to transfer from Cochise College, Shockey said UA South is working on aligning its programs more cleanly with the area communities. That entails tying into the City of Sierra Vista’s Plan for Prosperity and playing a part in the emerging economic development plan.
The university is not just looking at offerings that generate enrollment, it wants to offer programs that are meaningful to local students and their communities, Shockey said.
The enrollment figures at Cochise College only reflect its traditional academic students and does not include some of its special offerings like programs for Military Occupational Specialties or all its eight week students, Rottweiler said. The college offers more flexibility than it used to, answering a trend in students seeking classes when and how they want them.
After being stopped earlier this year, tuition assistance for U.S. Army soldiers was reinstated in April. Rottweiler said it’s less than it used to be but is adequate for the reasonable costs of community college.
There is a lot of changes and uncertainty in Cochise County, due to federal budgeting, but the college’s enrollment is reassuringly stable.
“All in all, we’re very pleased with where the enrollment numbers have come out,” Rottweiler said.
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Enrollment Reaches New Heights at UA South, Stable at Cochise College,
