id5000-wk3
Community Blues: A Learner Analysis
Between 2010 and 2015, Corinth County experienced an 86% growth rate in population, adding an additional 422,000+ residents to this once quiet county. Continued growth of 4% would give the county a population of 1.6 million residents by 2030. Businesses were moving into the area, bolstered by tax incentives, lower than average cost of living rates, great weather, and an abundance of activities within driving distance.
In addition, the county boasted a fantastic community college system with five campuses, all in the major cities, with award-winning programs in nursing, engineering, and business. Despite this growth, Corinth County College’s annual growth was stagnant. They had remained at a steady 25,000 students for the past five years and were losing students in the summer. What was going on?
New programs were started in Computer Science, Environmental Science, and Sports Management to appeal to students moving into the area and to compete with other local colleges. These were all on-campus programs, with evening and weekend classes to appeal to working adults. However, enrollment was not good; and the Computer Science program was going through yet another revision.
Two of the five campuses were newly built. They were convenient to some of the cities with the greatest growth, with modern buildings and had excellent parking. Yet, if anyone walked around these campuses after 5:00 and on weekends, they appeared deserted. The campuses were paid for with taxpayer dollars and the Board of Trustees wanted answers.
The College District routinely surveyed incoming and exiting students. Those students were excited about the college experience, raved about the quality of the instructors and exiting students usually had jobs or university enrollment waiting for them upon graduation. Retention of current students was also excellent—at about 80%. Clearly, The college must be doing something right.
A large-scale demographic survey had not been completed since 2010. The college decided to hire a consulting firm to assist in gathering demographic information that went beyond county data. Administrators were hopeful that this data would help provide some answers. Six months’ worth of data were collected on the new and existing Corinth College population.
You are an instructional designer with the Corinth County College District and you are on a taskforce to help determine why enrollment growth is not in line with county growth. You have been specifically tasked with looking at potential learners and beginning a learner analysis. The data is in on those new to the county and you are looking at these factors:
Student demographics:
Non-traditional
Working Adults
Relatively Affluent
College-aged children
Most had “Some College”
#1: Do you see any common factors among these demographics that might be causing enrollment to falter?
Top three states with the largest immigrant population:
California
Maryland
Colorado
#2: Do you see a common factor among these three states?
Top Three Needed Professions by 2025 (according to County records)
Healthcare Professionals
HVAC Technicians
Teachers
#3: Do you see a hole in curriculum that is not being addressed?
#4: Given the demographics, do you see a course delivery method that is perhaps being underutilized?
#5: What other recommendations would you give to college administrators and to the Board of Trustees in order to better understand current learners?