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Enrollment At Black Hawk College Continues To Fall

Black Hawk College's campus in Moline. Ill.
Black Hawk College
/
Submitted

Enrollment at Black Hawk College has fallen to the lowest level in five years even after Illinois finally passed a budget and sent funding to thousands of colleges and schools as a result.

Many of the state's public colleges have seen enrollment fall, in part because students have been uncertain about the future of grant money during the state's two year budget impasse.

Black Hawk Vice President Amy Maxeiner says it's unclear if that's still keeping students away this year, but that the college is using the decline as an opportunity to improve.

"We're exploring new student recruitment -- looking at programs for individuals who are at work and want to 'upskill.' At a time of low unemployment our enrollment will drop; if you have high unemployment we'll have more enrollment. So what we're trying to do is educate folks: don't want until you lose your job to 'upskill' or to get additional skills and get ready for the next job."
Registered credit hours at Black Hawk dropped 11.5 percent this year, from about 46,000 to 41,000, according to Maxeiner.

Enrollment stands at about 9,200 student, compared to 12,000 students five years ago.