Enrollment at Allen Community College has officials concerned.
Currently, enrollment is down by 266 students.
Those numbers could improve as students continue to enroll for the spring semester, Cynthia Jacobson, vice president for student affairs, said.
Classes begin Jan. 16.
Jacobson reported 1,563 students were enrolled as of Jan. 9. The total census count for the spring of 2023 was 1,829.
However, Jacobson told the board of trustees at a meeting on Tuesday evening, it’s a more fair comparison to look at the same point in time. If you compare the current enrollment of 1,563 to the same date last year, Allen had 1,616 students. That’s a difference of 53 students.
“But yes, enrollment is down,” she said. “It is concerning.”
She attributed much of the difference — about 200 — to a drop in online enrollment. Also, the number of high school students enrolled in online classes is lower, but only slightly.
Board members also asked if students were having success with the federal government’s new application for financial aid, commonly known as FASFA.
The U.S. Department of Education announced that its soft launch on Jan. 1 would continue until all of the bugs are fixed.The application process for the financial aid is for the 2024-25 school year.
Jacobson said students who have been successful in accessing the site found it took just a few minutes to complete the application.
“The questions were much more simple,” she said.
New trustee targets zoning
Newly elected member Corey Schinstock, who works as Iola’s assistant city administrator, informed members that the property Allen sits on is improperly zoned as R-1, single-family residential. It should be commercial.
Schinstock said he discovered the unusual situation while preparing for his role as trustee. It’s a simple enough process to change but takes about 60 days. Some administrators were aware of the zoning issue but thought it had been resolved. The board agreed to start the rezoning process.
