Spring classes start Tuesday, January 21, and preliminary numbers show overall enrollment up from last year. The Board of Trustees received a preview of spring 2025 enrollment numbers and an update regarding Free Tuition and Affordability Scholarship students at its regular January meeting.
ACC Student Affairs Vice Chancellor Dr. Shasta Buchanan informed trustees that enrollment is currently up about 15% from spring 2024 and that the College expects to have between 36,000-40,000 students enrolled this semester.
Buchanan says that the College has been working to streamline the barriers that help students start strong, contributing to the bump in enrollment. She cited initiatives such as course scheduling, pre-advising, and streamlining processes for support services such as child care, food access, and the student emergency fund.
To prepare to handle the increased enrollment, the College is working on hiring several temporary full-time faculty positions for adjunct faculty in high-demand programs, which usually only happens at the beginning of an academic year. In addition, over 50 new adjunct faculty have been hired for spring, with another 40 in the pipeline. Enrollment management and instruction teams will continue to monitor sections and look at availability up until the start of the semester.
ACC Institutional Research and Analytics Vice Chancellor Dr. Jenna Cullinane Hege provided a brief look at who ACC is serving in the free tuition and affordability scholarship populations.
Free Tuition students
As of January 10, approximately 4,600 students registered and enrolled in the spring semester are part of the Free Tuition cohort. The pilot program eliminates the cost of tuition and general fees for eligible students in the ACC service area. Of those enrolled in the program this spring, about 3,700 are re-enrolling from fall. Another roughly 800 students are new, which is a larger number than the College historically sees for spring starters. Many of those new students had applied in the fall but needed additional time to register for classes.
Affordability Scholarships students
With up to 5,700 students eligible for the Affordability Scholarship, approximately 4,000 enrolled to use their 15 free credit hours benefit in the fall. Of those, 776 students already completed their associate degree and 2,700 are re-enrolled this spring. Starting this semester, 262 students are newly participating in the program. The special limited-time program specifically supports students who were enrolled in a credit course at ACC during the spring 2024 semester.
The College will present final enrollment numbers to the board at their March meeting.
Welcome Riverbats tradition continues
To support students on their first days, ACC continues its Welcome Riverbats tradition. Volunteer faculty and staff will serve at welcome tables on each campus Tuesday, January 21, and Wednesday, January 22. The College is grateful to the more than 400 employees who have signed up to support the program. The teams will provide campus information, wayfinding support, snacks, swag, and a smile as students walk through our doors.