Recession Positively Affecting Anoka-Ramsey Community College?

PARKER
Session 27
Eighth Story


When the country is in a recession and the economy is down, most businesses, institutions and schools start to suffer, yet enrollment at Anoka-Ramsey Community College has increased 11.6 percent this year.

Several questions could be asked to find out why Anoka-Ramsey Community College seems to be doing considerably well. How many students receive some type of financial aid? Out of 20 Anoka-Ramsey students polled, 47.4 percent are receiving some form of aid, such as grants or scholarships. Only five percent said they pay for it on their own, and 20 percent said their parents pay for their tuition.

However, several students said they feel that scholarships and aid are becoming harder to get.

Forty-two percent of students said that tuition was a deciding factor in whether they attended Anoka-Ramsey, and the other majority, 42 percent, were Post-Secondary Enrollment Options students (PSEO).

Fifty-two percent of students who participated in the survey said that in their opinion tuition is the main reason that enrollment has increased.

Former Anoka-Ramsey student, Whitney Butz, said that, “It isn't a very expensive school, so it has become more attractive to potential students to further their education at ARCC instead of a much more expensive four-year institution.” Butz went on to transfer to University of North Dakota, Fargo, and her parents fund her tuition.

At 47 percent, unemployment rate was also polled to be a leading proprietor in student increase. Student Tawana Grimes said, “Community colleges normally have increases during recessions.” Grimes also said that while private schools in the nation may be suffering because of the recession, “community colleges & state colleges are doing well because of their tuition rates.”

Student Ken McClish said that unemployment is the main reason for increased enrollment rates this year. “I think most answers would point toward the economy in some way,” he said.

People are being laid-off from their jobs, several students said, and have time to go to school. The poll results also reflected that opinion. Rachel Hiel, a student at Anoka-Ramsey, said that student enrollment rates have gone up because, “the unemployed are offered 50 percent off tuition, and also because people are trying to get a degree to get a job more easily.”

In March 2009, Time Magazine featured an article which researched several private schools and their current financial positions. Author of the story, Laura Fitzpatrick, said that finding the funds to meet the demands of students seeking financial aid this year is a “tall order.” Fitzpatrick said several of the private universities were worried because an average of 60 percent of their operation costs come from tuition, and if they weren’t able to meet their incoming freshman quota, it could cause a “painful budget crunch.”

Fitzpatrick used private school Skidmore, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. as an example. The nearly $52,000 a year school, had a 14 percent decrease in student applications last spring. As a result it was facing the possibility of having to cut staff salaries, college programs and potentially even raise tuition.

However, Fitzpatrick also said that colleges with “deep pockets” are able to hold their own, seven out of the eight Ivy League schools declared student application increased last spring.

“The same goes for state schools and community colleges,” Fitzpatrick continued, “where the comparatively small sticker price is a big draw.”

According to Fitzpatrick from Time Magazine, private schools are facing budget cuts because of the recession and poor economy. But community colleges, like Anoka-Ramsey, continue to thrive and more students are drawn in by the low tuition rates.

Forty-seven percent of polled students said that colleges and universities are affected by the recession, however over half of them said that community colleges are positively affected, and so it seems considering the increase in student enrollment.