When Cuyahoga Community College opened its doors in the old Brownell School building to over 3,000 students in 1963, it was the first community college in the state.
Personal View: Building college enrollment to better the community
ALEX JOHNSON
Alex Johnson
Fall 2020 enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows COVID-19 s impact on community colleges. Across the nation, the total student population at community colleges dropped by 9.4%.
Nearly one out of 10 students at two-year schools such as Cuyahoga Community College disappeared from campus.
This decline was even more pronounced among low-income, African American and Hispanic students. As a whole, these demographic groups have lower levels of educational attainment and not coincidentally higher unemployment rates. The pandemic has widened this equity gap.
There has been a great deal of discussion about the impact of these enrollment declines on higher education, but very little about the long-term impact on businesses, communities and society.