Britney Hirras
Published: September 28, 2005
According to PJC officials, this year’s enrollment is down more than 10 percent.
Tuition declined significantly after Hurricane Ivan. Students who lost homes, businesses, and had to put everything on hold to recover, withdrew from the college until they could get their lives back in order.
Dr. Thomas Delaino, president of PJC, notes that the one of the main causes for decreased enrollment is that “students simply don’t have the resources.” Many students don’t have the time or money to continue taking classes, while others are taking advantage of the high-paying construction jobs.
It is estimated that most of those students won’t be back at PJC for at least another two years.
The decline in enrollment will have a heavy impact on the college’s finances. Tuition revenue makes up 25 percent of the total budget, and with 10 percent of that gone, there is little room for comfort.
After Hurricane Ivan, PJC lost eight percent of tuition proceeds, or $800,000. This year, PJC will be down more than $1 million dollars because of the enrollment drop.
Not only does the college lose revenue from tuition, it loses money from the state as well. Florida contributes about 74 percent of the college’s budget, based on previous enrollment, and with less students at PJC, there is less money from the state to compensate for the gap in incoming tuition.
Dr. James Martin thinks there is another reason why the college’s enrollment is down.
“PJC has never had an aggressive recruitment program,” he said. “In the past, we didn’t have to compete so much with the surrounding colleges like UWF and Virginia College. Schools are starting to become aggressive by going out and recruiting potential students.”
PJC has always advertised publicly with billboards, radio and TV ads, but now a program is being implemented on the campus that will reach out to potential students. Kathy Dutremble directs the program, and PJC is currently advertising for a recruiter.
“The goal of this program is getting students excited about going to PJC with diversified teams, and letting students know that they can go into their chosen profession with the help of PJC,” Martin said.
Recruitment will take place in business, high schools, and even hospitals for nurses who need to continue their education. Older students will reach out to other adults their age, while younger PJC students will go out to area high schools and encourage students to enroll at the college.
How will the drop in enrollment affect PJC students? Very little, according to the administration.
“We’ve been very careful to not let it affect the students,” Delaino said. “The normal activities of the college will not be affected.”
What the decrease in enrollment does mean, however, is a tighter budget for the college, fewer raises for the faculty, and more work for the existing employees.