The Columbia Chronicle, October 3, 2016

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Oct. 1 FAFSA timeline gives students three extra months to apply

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Volume 52, Issue 5

ColumbiaChronicle.com

CTU sets Oct. 11 strike date following negotiation issues

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Oct.

3

2016

Enrollment at 20-year low, Provost says, ‘Keep the faith’ » ANDREA SALCEDO LLAURADO CAMPUS EDITOR

2016 would be the year of enrollment “turnaround,” official figures showed a net loss of nearly 850 students, marking one of Columbia’s largest drops during its seventh consecutive year of enrollment decline. Final enrollment numbers for the Fall 2016 Semester published on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness’ website revealed a 9.4 percent decrease in last year’s total—down from 8,961 students to 8,120 students. Enrollment has not been as low in two decades, when the college reported 8,066 students in 1996, according to the College Archives. The college reached its highest point in 2008 with 12,464 students and has decreased annually since then. Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden, who, following the Fall 2015 Semester said the college would do anything to prevent further decline, as reported Sept. 28, 2015, by The Chronicle, said that Columbia’s administrators were not surprised by the latest numbers because it was clear the college would not meet one of its projected figures—8,300 students—by early summer. “We were ready for [these numbers] coming into the Fall [2016 Semester],” Wearden said. President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim deferred comment on the figures’ release, and the college’s News Office said he would not speak on the enrollment until the fiscal year budget is finalized. According to Wearden, there are several variables that contributed to the drop , including students’ financial limitations and the college’s “perceived reputation” DESPITE PREDICTIONS THAT

SEE ENROLLMENT, PAGE 13

» Source COLLEGE ARCHIVES

» ZOË HAWORTH/CHRONICLE

» Source INSTITUTIONAL EFFECTIVENESS

» G-JUN YAM/CHRONICLE


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