This can't be good. Enrollment at STL Community College has plummeted from 32,000 in 1990 to 19,000 today:
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... 44e76.html
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/educ ... 44e76.html
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^and during that time they opened a new campus in Wildwood.
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Curious what "traditional" 4-year universities enrollment looks like during that same time period. I would have to think at least some of the "lost" 13k students decided to enroll in 4-year rather than 2-year schooling, yes?
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ricke002 wrote:Curious what "traditional" 4-year universities enrollment looks like during that same time period. I would have to think at least some of the "lost" 13k students decided to enroll in 4-year rather than 2-year schooling, yes?
This is definitely part of it. For better or for worse, all high schools tend to emphasize 4-year colleges. I taught in SLPS and community colleges were rarely part of the conversation.
Maybe it is just me but I think the next move is to open more specialized schools in the area. Nowadays, if young people are going to a 2-year school, it is for some specific, such as design, tech, etc. (This is not really based on concrete numbers but observations on working in education and only being a few years out of school.) St. Louis needs to capitalize and open up new school(s) or remake its current system to reflect the growth of city sectors... Schools like Art & Design (downtown), School of Music (Midtown), Culinary (downtown), technical school, etc. Plus, perhaps most importantly, I think the branding and recognition of schools is important... and "St. Louis Academy of the Arts", "St. Louis School of Music", and "St. Louis School of Design" all sound better than "St. Louis Community College - [insert focus area here]"
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What's kind of depressing is that so many have gone to these questionable/sometimes huckster private for-profit colleges that increasingly have popped up the past decade or so. A strong CC program seems like it would be much more affordable and provide better value.
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roger wyoming II wrote:What's kind of depressing is that so many have gone to these questionable/sometimes huckster private for-profit colleges that increasingly have popped up the past decade or so. A strong CC program seems like it would be much more affordable and provide better value.
Agreed. Which is why I think STL CC could use some rebranding or invigoration of some kind. How? I am not sure.
I like your idea.billikens&bricks wrote:Maybe it is just me but I think the next move is to open more specialized schools in the area. Nowadays, if young people are going to a 2-year school, it is for some specific, such as design, tech, etc. (This is not really based on concrete numbers but observations on working in education and only being a few years out of school.) St. Louis needs to capitalize and open up new school(s) or remake its current system to reflect the growth of city sectors... Schools like Art & Design (downtown), School of Music (Midtown), Culinary (downtown), technical school, etc. Plus, perhaps most importantly, I think the branding and recognition of schools is important... and "St. Louis Academy of the Arts", "St. Louis School of Music", and "St. Louis School of Design" all sound better than "St. Louis Community College - [insert focus area here]"
Maybe the SLCC model needs to be overhauled altogether. It's likely still based on an old model. I also say build an urban central campus downtown in the process. Sell the land at Forest Park to prospective developers.
