Allen Community College trustees were given a glimpse Thursday evening of how much federal Pell grants affected summer enrollment.
Summer school enrollment at ACC is down 10 percent this year because students no longer can receive Pell grant funding to take summer courses.
ACC President John Masterson reported the number of students enrolled in online courses also is down, the first time when online enrollment dropped from one year to the next.
Not all was doom and gloom.
Masterson said pre-enrollment figures for the fall semester were encouraging, with 181 more students enrolled at this point than by mid-June 2011.
Masterson expects student housing to be at full capacity when classes start Aug. 14. All rooms are accounted for at Masterson Hall, the ACC duplexes and the new three-story sixplex under construction along White Boulevard, Masterson said.
Winter Hall has three vacancies, and Horton Hall is about half full. Masterson said those rooms will be gobbled up quickly as athletes and scholarship students complete necessary paperwork to acquire student housing.
AS FOR THE sixplex, Vice President for Finance and Operations Steve Troxel said all signs point to work being on schedule for a July 31 completion date.
Drywall work was completed this week, with painting set to commence shortly. Fears of equipment delays have not materialized, Troxel said.
“We’re looking good, but it’s also important to note we’re only 45 days away” from the deadline, Troxel said.
TOSCA HARRIS, dean of the Iola campus, suggested trustees consider adding to staff at ACC’s writing center.
Usage of the writing center has skyrocketed since it opened in 2008, Harris said.
The center was used by students 33 times in the fall of 2008. By the fall of 2011, the center registered more than 1,000 visits.
Student tutors have assisted director Bruce Symes, Harris said, but trends point to more manpower being needed.
“It’s grown way beyond (English composition) classes,” Harris said, noting students working on research papers for other disciplines frequently have utilized the writing center.
TRUSTEES received a mixture of good and bad news regarding insurance coverage.
