ICC’s President Explains Drop in Enrollment
Rachael Hirstein
November 4, 2021
In late October of 2021, Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey, Illinois Central College’s president, commented on the recent drop in enrollment.
COVID-19 caused a huge increase in online classes.
“Prior to the pandemic, about 15% of our classes were online, and now it’s around 50%.”
Dr. Quirk-Bailey explained
The unpredictability of the pandemic placed ICC in a state of uncertainty.
Dr. Quirk-Bailey said that ICC’s enrollment is down 20%, and the national average of college enrollment is down almost 25%.
With a normal recession, enrollment normally increases due to a decrease in jobs that do not require a degree.
COVID-19 caused a huge increase in the job market and a huge decrease in student enrollment.
High schools also began seeing a drop in graduates which greatly affected ICC.
“About 30-32% of high school graduating classes come to ICC. We are still recruiting and serving the same percentage we always have but its fewer students.”
Dr. Quirk-Bailey stated
ICC was quick to adjust to this issue and worked to allow students to still attend classes.
As more classes moved online, the college assisted students by giving out Chromebooks and helping with WiFi accessibility.
President Biden expressed his desire to grant tuition-free community colleges, but the bill was not passed.
Dr. Quirk-Bailey explained that though college will not be free at this time, there may be federal grants and funding programs on the rise.
“Stay close to financial aid, we will make sure we get bulletins out for our students. So if you qualify for something that you hadn’t before, we’re going to help you figure it out.”
Dr. Quirk-Bailey
For the full interview with Dr. Sheila Quirk-Bailey visit the Harbinger Student Media vodcast page here.