Rend Lake College lost 45.8 percent of its enrollment between 2010 and 2014.

Everything is not golden for community colleges in Illinois as they mark their 50^th anniversary of existence.

Headcounts at the state’s 48 community colleges have dropped an average of more than 11 percent since 2010.

The number of students enrolled in credit courses at Illinois community colleges dropped by 14,137 (4 percent) from Fall 2013 to Fall 2014. Full-time equivalent enrollments are at their lowest level (195,165 students) since Fall 2002.

Numbers for this fall’s enrollment will not be out until later this month, but they seem unlikely to stop the downward trend.

The drop in enrollment at state community colleges, which have roots back to 1965, may be triggered by a combination of things, according to Matt Berry, legislative and external affairs liaison for the Illinois Community College Board in Springfield.

“Enrollment in higher education statewide and nationwide has declined because high school enrollment has stayed steady or slightly declined,” Berry said. “Also, we generally see as the economy improves, community college enrollment dips.”

With an improved economy, individuals head back to work rather than going to community colleges to learn new job skills, Berry said.

Berry said that 35 of the state’s 48 community colleges reported headcount decreases of 1 percent of more between 2013 and 2014. Only eight community colleges in the state showed increases of 1 percent or more during the same time frame. The remaining five community colleges experienced little or no change (less than 1 percent positive or negative), Berry noted.

Nearly one-third of all community colleges in the state have seen headcounts drop by at least 20 percent since 2010.

Illinois community colleges that lost at least one-fifth of their enrollment between 2010 and 2014 are:

• Rend Lake – 45.8 percent
• South Suburban – 29.4
• Highland – 28.5
• Kankakee – 27.9
• Malcolm X – 25.4
• Lake Land – 24.3
• Wabash Valley – 24.1
• Shawnee – 23.7
• Wood – 23.0
• Southeastern – 22.2
• Triton – 22.1
• Illinois Valley – 21.8
• Illinois Central – 21.3
• Prairie State – 21.0
• Southwestern – 20.2Berry said community colleges have done an excellent job in tailoring job-training programs to meet community and employer needs.“I hope enrollment picks up or at least levels off,” Berry said. “However, we are probably not going to get the record-high numbers we saw in the recession. State Sen. Pat McGuire, chair of the Illinois Senate Higher Education Committee, said parents and students get a great deal with Illinois community colleges. He said too much emphasis is placed on the selective schools and not enough is placed on the effective schools.
• “For my money, those exclusive joints on the East and West coasts that send their graduates to Wall Street, let them be as smug and as self-satisfied as they want,” McGuire said. “I’m sticking with Joliet Junior College and other community colleges.”
• Illinois has the third-largest community college system in the nation, which, when non-credit courses are factored in, totals between 800,000 and 900,000 students.
• Still, statewide enrollment in community had dipped from 379,000 in 2010 to 337,000 in 2014.

— Numbers fall at community colleges —