
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994                   TAG: 9408230081
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MEGAN SCHNABEL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COMMUNITY-COLLEGE ENROLLMENT WANES

As tuition climbs and the pool of recent high school graduates shrinks, Virginia Western Community College is fighting to keep its enrollment steady.

Classes began Monday at Virginia Western for a student body that school officials predict will be no larger - and possibly smaller - than last year's.

Robert Harrell, dean of academic and student affairs, said Monday afternoon that final enrollment figures were not yet available but that this year's expected enrollment of 6,200 to 6,500 students could represent a decline of up to three percent from last year.

The drop in enrollment was not unexpected, Harrell said.

A systemwide tuition increase of nearly 37 percent during the past five years has been at least partly to blame for the decline, he said. All 23 of the state's community colleges charge the same tuition, and so all have been affected by the rate increase.

Although tuition rose by a relatively modest 3 percent this year - from $44 to $45.30 per credit hour - the cumulative increase has driven away many students, especially part-timers not eligible for financial aid, said Dwight Blalock, dean of financial and administrative services.

Because the community college tuition-assistance program has increased "dramatically" along with the tuition increase, financially needy full-time students - traditionally eligible for more financial aid than their part-time counterparts - still should receive substantial aid, Blalock said.

A shrinking number of graduating high school seniors also has contributed to the statewide decline in community college enrollment, Harrell said. Several studies project an increasing number of high school graduates during the next few years, but whether the growth will be enough to compensate for the current drought is unknown, he said.

Once final figures for 1994-95 have been tallied, Virginia Western's $14.5 million budget may have to be adjusted somewhat to compensate for any drop in enrollment, Harrell said.

Because a community college's budget is based on the number of students it serves, any loss of students would mean a matching loss of funds. In the case of Virginia Western, with a projected enrollment decline of no more than 3 percent, Harrell said the dollar loss would be minimal - but still unwelcome.

"We're not talking big dollars," he said, ``but every dollar is significant.''

by CNB