Heartland Community College Summer Enrollment Up After Pandemic Dip

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[June 16, 2020]   Heartland Community College has posted an increase in Summer 2020 enrollment for credit classes.

The increase of 3.14 percent more enrolled credit hours than Summer 2019 represents a significant recovery compared to the initial trend of enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The conversion of our Summer schedule to an all-online format was initially a shock to the system,” said Sarah Diel-Hunt, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services. “Students who signed up for face-to-face courses over the summer were de-enrolled as an online version of the course was listed. At that time enrollment fell 35 percent in comparison to the same time in 2019. The efforts of our staff to provide resources and guidance for students should be noted for how the Summer semester has turned around.”



COVID-19 lockdowns in March prompted the College, like many institutions, to rethink face-to-face instruction without any certainty of when pandemic measures could be lifted. This resulted in the de-enrollment of 337 students enrolled in face-to-face courses. 

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To re-work the Summer term, Heartland Advising staff worked with de-enrolled students, enrolling 81 percent of them into online courses. Further efforts brought 2020 Summer credit hour enrollment back up, surpassing Summer 2018 enrolled hours by almost 6 percent and 2019 credit hours by over 3 percent.

 

 

Summer 2019

Summer 2020

% change

Unduplicated Headcount

2,060

2,076

0.78%

Credit Hours

10,131

10,449

3.14 %

 

Conversion of the Summer term toward online instruction helped faculty and support staff also prepare for a Fall term where a shelter-in-place order may be lifted but other health safety measures are still needed. For the Fall 2020 term the College is taking a blended approach where classes with a clinical or hands-on component will take place on campus in a classroom/lab setting with a limit of no more than 10 people per meeting, employing health safety practices. All other classes will be conducted either fully online or with a Zoom hybrid format which increases real-time remote instruction.

[Steve Fast
Director, Public Information
Heartland Community College]

 

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