The pandemic had a negative impact on college enrollments both nationally and in our state. As a college and district, we have been focused on rebuilding our enrollments and re-engaging students, particularly students who may have stopped out. I am very proud of our collective strategies to rebuild our enrollments which are gradually reaching our pre-pandemic enrollment numbers. Two examples of enrollment metrics are headcount and Full Time Equivalent Students (FTES).
- Headcount measures the unduplicated number of enrolled students.
- FTES is a unit of measurement of how many full-time equivalent students are served by a class or program and is one of the primary metrics within the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF) and accounts for 74% of our funding in 2023-24.
As of September 5, 2023, IVC’s headcount and FTES reflect the following:
Headcount: 14,520 students, a 15.25% increase from Fall 2022 and only 5% decrease from Fall 2019 (our pre-pandemic benchmark).
FTES: 4616, a 17.17% increase from Fall 2022 and a 5% decrease from Fall 2019.
As I shared at President’s Opening Day, I believe the following areas are contributing to our enrollment growth.
Targeted Marketing: including digital media and multi-language campaigns with a focus on promoting career and adult education.
Intentional Outreach: including regular visits to all feeder high schools and a successful Preview Day last spring that drew over 1,800 participants. Of these attendees, 354 self-identified as 2023 graduate or earlier and our tracking demonstrated that:
- 15% enrolled in Summer 2023
- 53% enrolled in Fall 2023
- 43% are part of IVC Promise Program Cohort 6
Call-Center: including efforts highlighting an enrollment campaign for students who completed an admission application but missed their registration appointments; and promoting earlier versus delayed registration for the upcoming semester. Last year we conducted 37 calling campaigns.
Streamlined student onboarding services: providing proactive nudges via two-way text messaging for seamless transition.
Expansion of Irvine Valley Promise Program: providing free tuition for the first two years. We have not only surpassed our target goal of 1,500 students for the incoming sixth cohort, but we have set a record high with 1,754 students for Fall 2023. This represents a staggering 279% increase when compared to the number of students in the Fall 2020 cohort. Additionally, a significant development in terms of equitable access has been the rise of Hispanic/Latinx students as the largest racial/ethnic group within the program, comprising 31.9 percent of the incoming cohort.
Streamlined student accounts receivable process: including debt relief for students who have outstanding fees and thus could not register for classes and providing bookstore vouchers - as part of our re-engagement campaign.
Laptop loaner program: allowing students an additional benefit under the Learn 2 Earn program to keep their device if they meet certain academic requirements (GPA and units completed).
Offering diverse instructional delivery modalities: meeting student demand and expectations.
Renewed focus on re-engagement and retention strategies: ensuring enrolled students continue term-to-term and complete their educational goals.
I want to express my appreciation to all departments and individuals who are directly contributing to these efforts and to faculty and staff who are creating and sustaining learning environments to ensure every student’s experience is designed for success. Good things are happening at Irvine Valley College!
Best,
John