Trend: Iowa community colleges seeing more part-time than full-time students

IOWA CITY - The balance between full- and part-time community college students in Iowa continues to tip toward those taking a partial schedule of courses, and administrators say that trend reflects shifting needs and lifestyles.

Total full-time enrollment in Iowa's 15 community colleges for fall 2014 was 38,005 students - a 5.5 percent decrease from last fall's full-time enrollment of 40,213, according to the 2014 Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges report, recently made public.

But part-time community college enrollment climbed to 55,767. That accounts for nearly 60 percent of total fall enrollment statewide, compared with 57 percent last fall, the report found.

Jon Buse, Cedar Rapids-based Kirkwood Community College dean of students, said the part-time trend 'is true for us.”

Part-timers are becoming more common at the college as students try to piece together work demands with school schedules and family needs, he said.

'Because the economy is relatively strong in the Corridor, there is opportunity to work,” Buse said. 'We are seeing students continuing their education, but perhaps not at the full-time pace.”

A full-time student must take at least 12 credit hours per semester. Community college students were enrolled in an average of 8.9 semester hours in fall 2014, compared with an average 9.3 semester hours in fall 2013, according to the report.

Taking courses part-time can afford students more freedom to work, Buse said.

'There are real positives to pacing oneself,” he said. 'One thing we don't want to see is students load up if they can't be successful.”

From the college's perspective, Buse said, 'We are just meeting student needs. Whatever those needs are.”

'We are trying to be affordable and provide opportunity for students, depending on their individual circumstances,” he said.

Total fall enrollment, both full-and part-time, for 2014 dropped half a percent to 93,772. Student totals were down at 11 of Iowa's 15 community colleges, including Kirkwood, which saw a 7 percent drop in the fall from 15,345 to 14,268.

Although almost 40 percent of all community college students signed up for at least one online course during the 2014 school year, online enrollment was down 3.6 percent, from 58,131 to 56,021.

Meanwhile, the new report indicates the total cost of enrollment, on average, increased 3.2 percent per semester hour from about $153 to about $158. Kirkwood's tuition increase per semester hour for in-state students was just above the state average, at 3.6 percent, and higher than 10 of the other colleges.

But, at $145 per semester hour, Kirkwood remained among the lowest in the state, according to the report. Only Eastern Iowa Community Colleges, at $137, and Des Moines Area Community College, at $139, charged less per semester hour, the state reported.

'Students choosing community colleges are looking for affordability,” Buse said. 'That's not just about being the lowest, but being the best value. We are trying to balance that.”

President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address last month proposed a plan to offer free tuition to community college for some qualifying students. Local administrators say they support the president's efforts to shine a light on community college and increase access, but it's too soon to know whether the proposal is viable and what impact it might have if it ever is adopted.