CCCS AY 2016 Student FTE, Enrollment Demographics, and Degrees

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1 AY 2016 Student FTE, Enrollment Demographics, and Degrees At a glance: The Colorado Community College System () is the largest system of higher education in the state. The FTE enrollment totaled 50,246.7, a decrease of 5.2 percent from last year as a strong economy continued to entice students back to work. colleges served 120,635 students in courses awarding credit toward a degree or other formal award. In addition, we serve approximately 17,000 students each year in non-credit education. colleges awarded 19,864 credentials, an increase of 9.9 percent over s 18,074 awards. Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Students With 39 learning sites spanning the state and the greatest number of students enrolled, the Colorado Community College System is the largest system of higher education in the state. In , accounted for 34.1 percent of resident undergraduate FTE in Colorado public institutions of higher education. completed the academic year with 50,246.7 FTE students. An FTE is a way to measure academic enrollment activity: 30 credit hours equal one FTE student. This definition of FTE provides a mechanism to measure academic enrollment activity consistently among institutions of higher education. Student FTE counts are used in the state formula for distributing money to public colleges and universities. Not all student credit hours are included in the previously mentioned 50,246.7 FTE. Some credit hours fall outside the state definition of countable hours. Examples include credit hours where there is a third-party payer, such as the Colorado Department of Corrections, and course sections where enrollment is closed to the general public. These types of noncountable credit hours accounted for an additional 1,024 FTE at colleges. Student FTEs are classified as in state or out of state, depending on the tuition they are required to pay. Ninety-four percent of FTE students are classified as in-state students for tuition purposes. College AY In-State Figure 1. Comparison of and FTE, by Tuition Residency Status AY Out-of-State AY AY In-State AY Out-of-State AY % Chg. In-State % Chg. Out-of-State % Chg. ACC 5, , , , % -19.4% -4.1% 4, , , , % -3.2% -4.1% 5, , , , % -0.4% -8.4% % -4.3% -3.9% 11, , , , % 2.8% -2.6% % 6.0% -7.3% 1, , % -46.6% -10.0% 1, , , , % 2.9% -11.5% , , % -13.6% -6.2% 3, , , , % -0.7% -5.8% 9, , , , % 3.9% -4.0% 5, , , , % -2.3% -6.6% 1, , , , % 6.3% -12.0% 49, , , , , , % -1.3% -5.2% 1

2 In addition to students who are Colorado residents, as defined in state law, this number includes students for whom state law has granted special dispensation for in-state tuition. The colleges vary significantly in the number of student FTE. With 23.2 percent of the system s FTE students, Front Range Community College is the largest college (11,670 FTE), followed by Pikes Peak Community College, with 18.1 percent of student FTE (9,075 FTE). At just under 600 FTE, Lamar Community College accounts for 1.2 percent of the total. Spring 44.2% Figure 3. Proportion of FTE by Term Summer 10.7% Fall 45.1% The 50,246.7 FTE is a 5.2 percent decrease from last year s total of 53,013.4 FTE students. All thirteen colleges experienced FTE declines. The decline is not surprising given the strength in the Colorado economy. Community college enrollment tends to change inversely with the economy, with stronger enrollments during a poor economy and weaker enrollments during a thriving economy. This phenomenon is illustrated in Figure 2, which compares the percentage change in FTE with the percentage change in Colorado s employment over the last nine years. 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5% -10% Figure 2. Percent Change in Employment Compared to Percent Change in FTE Percent Change Employment Percent Change FTE Fall term accounted for more credit hours than spring term, although not markedly so. Fall accounted for 45.1 percent of student FTE, compared to 44.2 percent for spring. The remaining 10.7 percent were summer students. Students averaged 8.0 credits in the fall and 8.2 credits in the spring. Overall, rural colleges tended to have higher average credit hours per student than urban colleges. High School Student FTE High school students comprised 12 percent of total FTE in , or 6,052.1 FTE. This number is an increase of 5.6 percent from last year, when high school students accounted for 10.8 percent of total student FTE. In keeping with its large student population, Front Range Community College had the greatest number of high school student FTE, followed by Arapahoe Community College. On a percentage of total FTE, however, rural colleges tended to outpace their urban counterparts. Morgan Community College had the highest proportion of high school students, at 33.6 percent. Lamar Community College followed with 26.8 percent. Figure 4 displays the high school student FTE compared to total FTE by college. ACC Figure 4. High School Student FTE as a Percent of FTE 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 2

3 Spring was the most productive semester for highschool-student credit hours: 52.6 percent of the high-school-student FTE count occurred in the spring. Online Student FTE Students who took courses online accounted for 19.9 percent of total FTE in Fall and spring semesters were relatively similar in terms of the proportion of total online FTE, with both at just under 40 percent. Summer, however, had a higher proportion of online FTE compared to total FTE, with almost 21 percent of the online total. The proportion of online FTE ranged from a high of 27 percent at Arapahoe Community College to a low of 5.9 percent at Northeastern Junior College. As illustrated in Figure 5, urban colleges tended to have higher proportions of online students than rural colleges. In fact, when ranking the proportion of online FTE, the seven urban colleges were ranked highest. ACC Figure 5. Online Student FTE as a Percent of FTE 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Career and Technical Education (CTE) FTE Almost one-third of FTE was attributable to CTE credit hours. CTE credit hours are occupation-specific instructional courses designed to provide work-related knowledge and skills. With almost half of its FTE in CTE program enrollment, Trinidad State Junior College had the highest percentage of CTE students, followed by Pueblo Community College, Colorado Northwestern Community College, and Red Rocks Community College, all at more than 40 percent. ACC Figure 6. CTE as a Percent of FTE 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Developmental Education FTE enrollment in developmental education courses fell 12.3 percent from to It now accounts for 7.5 percent of total FTE compared to 8.1 percent last year and 10.7 percent the year before. The reduction in developmental education FTE over time reflects the implementation of the developmental education redesign project, which was fully implemented in The project s goal is to help more students persist to graduation. The redesign accomplishes this by decreasing the number of developmental education courses a student takes and accelerating students into college-level courses, thereby reducing the time to complete a degree. Fewer developmental education courses also mean that more financial aid is available for college-level courses. As shown in Figure 7, Morgan Community College had the lowest proportion of developmental education FTE, while the Community College of Denver had the highest. 3

4 ACC Figure 7. Percent of FTE in Developmental Education 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% Military Personnel FTE Students associated with the military, including active duty, veterans, spouses, and dependents, comprised 7.7 percent of total FTE in the twelve colleges that reported military FTE. As expected, Pikes Peak Community College reported the highest proportion of military personnel, at 30.1 percent. The next highest college was Red Rocks Community College, at 5.9 percent. At 72.6 percent of the total, veterans constituted the majority of military personnel, an increase of almost four percentage points over last year. U.S. Military 27.4% FTE Wrap Up Figure 8. Military FTE by Type Honorably Discharged Veteran 72.6% Figure 9 compares total FTE for high school students, online, CTE, developmental education, and military personnel with those from Please note that comparisons across FTE categories are not appropriate because the categories are not mutually exclusive, and certainly there are many other credit hours that are not included in any of these specific categories. Nevertheless, these FTE can be used as a benchmark to assess how changes in, for example, the economic landscape, law and regulations, technology, and the provision of higher education services nationally and within affect FTE enrollment over time. 18,000 16,000 14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Figure 9. Comparison of and FTE by Category High School Online CTE Dev Ed Military Headcount Enrollment and Demographics In , colleges served 120,635 students in courses awarding credit toward a degree or other formal award. Thus, in addition to students enrolled in programs that award an associate degree, this count includes students enrolled in courses that are part of a vocational or occupational program, students enrolled in developmental education courses, and high school students taking college-level courses for credit. Unlike FTE, this section of the report includes all students taking courses for college credit, whether they are countable as FTE or not. As with student FTE, Front Range Community College was the largest college, with 23 percent of the system s enrollment (27,726 students), followed by Pikes Peak Community College, with 15.8 percent of enrollment (19,020 students). Lamar Community College was the smallest, with 965 students. The 120,635 students in is a decrease of 5 percent from last year s count of 126,963. 4

5 Figure 10. Comparison of AY and AY Unique Students by College College AY AY # Change % Change ACC 17,403 17, % 11,355 10, % 14,988 13,763-1, % 1,786 1, % 27,925 27, % 1, % 2,402 2, % 2,668 2, % 2,043 1, % 9,960 8,911-1, % 19,939 19, % 12,964 12, % 2,490 2, % 126, ,635-6, % 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Figure 12. Proportion of Students by Age Group: AY to AY < AY AY AY Students who were continuing at a college accounted for the greatest number of students by enrollment type, followed by high school students, transfers, and first-time students. With the exception of the under 18, or high school, age group, the overall number of students in each age group decreased from a year ago. With the increase in enrollment of the youngest age group and declines in the 18 through 24 age groups that were less than the overall system decline over the last two years, the student body is becoming younger. Compared to last year, the median age of students dropped from 23 to 22, while the average age dropped about eight months. The proportion of students 24 years of age and younger increased from 56.3 percent last year to 58.9 percent. 140, , ,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Figure 13. Number of Students by Enrollment Type High School Continuing or Readmit Transfer First Time 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Figure 11. Number of Students by Age Group: AY to AY < AY AY AY Proportionally, students goals for their education were similar to last year. In terms of the type of degree sought, 42.6 percent of students who specified a particular credential as their objective indicated an associate of arts (AA) or associate of science (AS) degree was their goal. AA and AS degrees are generally considered transfer degrees. About 37 percent of students indicated a careeroriented credential as a goal, either an associate of applied science degree (AAS) or a certificate. 5

6 2-Year 3% Figure 14. Enrollment by Degree Sought AAS 21% AGS 9% AA/AS 43% Fifty-five percent of students who provided information on the level of their parents education indicated that neither of their parents earned a four-year college degree. At the other end of the spectrum, 21 percent reported that both parents had a four-year degree. 1-Year 7% Undeclared 17% Female students accounted for 55.3 percent of total students in Male and female students were equally as likely to indicate AA, AS, or AAS degrees as their educational goal, but female students were more likely to select an associate of general studies (AGS) degree as their objective. Male students designated a certificate as their target more than female students. In addition to diversity in age and gender, colleges serve students with a wide range of cultural backgrounds. In , 34.9 percent of students reported as being a racial or ethnic minority, and an additional 2.4 percent of students were international students. 1 Hispanic students comprised the largest group of minority students, at 56.6 percent of total minority students, while African-American students followed with 18.1 percent of minority students. 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Degrees Awarded Figure 16. Parents Who Earned a Four-Year Degree Neither, 55% Mother, 12% Father, 12% Both, 21% In , colleges awarded 19,864 credentials, an increase of 9.9 percent over s 18,074 awards. A one-year certificate was the credential awarded most often, accounting for 49 percent of total awards, followed by AAS degrees at 15 percent of the total. Figure 15. Number of Students by Race/Ethnicity 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 Figure 17. Credentials Awarded by Degree Level, AY 2016 Asian Black Hawaiian Hispanic AAS 15% AGS 8% AA 14% AS 5% Multiple Am. Indian Internat'l Unknown 2-Yr 9% White 1-Yr 49% 1 Percentages are based on students who report race/ethnicity. About 6 percent of students did not report. A minority student includes a student who reports as Asian, Black/African American, Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, or American Indian/Alaska Native or who reports multiple races. Twenty-eight percent of the AA and AS degrees awarded included a designation. The business designation was the most popular with 414 of the 6

7 1,053 degrees awarded with designation, followed by psychology with 193 (including both AA and AS). Business Figure 18. Number of Degrees Awarded with Designation Math Psychology Criminal Justice Elem. Ed Among the colleges, Northeastern Junior College is notable for its year-over-year increase in awards. The college awarded a number of certificates to students in AAS programs who had successfully completed the coursework for these certificates. This process of awarding stackable credentials allows students to earn shorter-term credentials while expanding their qualifications and knowledge base over time. The Community College of Aurora awarded a number of stackable certificates in , resulting in an extraordinarily large increase in credentials last year and explaining the decrease in the number of credentials this year. Sociology Other History Early Child Ed The number of associate degrees awarded increased 12.6 percent, compared to 8 percent for certificates. Figure Credentials Awarded by College and Type of Credential College 1-Yr 2-Yr AAS AGS AA AS Awards AY 16 Awards AY 15 # Change AY15 to AY16 % Change AY15 to AY16 ACC ,691 1, % ,149 1, % ,270 1, % % 2, ,666 4, % % % % % 1, ,365 2, % ,747 2, % 2, ,057 2,000 1, % % 9,727 1,777 3,052 1,545 2,750 1,013 19,864 18,074 1, % Data Notes: The source of all FTE data is the CDHE Final FTE and Headcount Report, AY submitted by colleges to CDHE. In all cases, the FTE data represents in-state and out-of-state resident instruction; the all other category, which is not claimable for state support, is not included. Enrollment and demographic data is compiled from college SURDS Enrollment file submissions to CDHE, with the exception of parental education, which is extracted from Banner. Degree data is from college SURDS Degree file submissions to CDHE for FY October 26,