2008 Woodie Awards
Student enrollment recovers after year marked by layoffs
Ryan Bell
Issue date: 4/24/06 Section: News
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Enrollment at De Anza College has gone up 4% since last year, according to De Anza College President Brian Murphy.
This growth was helping De Anza recover from a tough year marked by staff layoffs, Murphy said in his annual State of the College report Monday.
Per student spending has gone down nearly two-thirds since the 2000-2001 school year, Murphy said.
"This is a bad number and we wish it were better," he said. Per student spending for the 2000-2001 school year was $255, according to the 2005-2006 State of the College Annual Report. This year, it is $88.
While on-campus enrollment has decreased, Murphy said enrollment in the Job Corps has increased. Job Corps enrollment accounts for ten percent of the students at De Anza.
De Anza enrolls 12 percent of high school graduates in Santa Clara County, according to the report. However, with no projected long-range growth in high school graduates, Murphy does not expect that number to grow.
Additionally, increased competition from other community colleges and high gas prices could discourage potential students from attending De Anza, according to the report.
Journalism student Tim Palokowski lives and works in Santa Clara and visits campus only when he needs to. It costs him $55 to fill up his gas tank and his commute takes up to 40 minutes everyday.
Race and Age
Murphy said that De Anza's 48 percent enrollment of Asian and Pacific Islander students was "disproportionate," considering that they make up only 24 percent of the adult population of Santa Clara County.
Whites and Hispanics are "underrepresented" based on population numbers, he said.
De Anza's population is getting younger every year, according to the report. Students under the age of 24 now account for 61 percent of enrollment while 10 years ago only 51 percent of students were under 25.
Murphy called De Anza "challenged" in math, based on the 04-05 divisional retention and success rates.
Success rates for math courses averaged 67 percent in contrast to at least 80 percent in most other categories.
"Under-preparation is systematic and ubiquitous," he said.
Murphy's showed the audience a picture of the new $13.5 million Visual and Performing Arts Center, which will be located on the Stevens Creek Boulevard side of campus. The center will incorporate the existing Euphrat Art Museum as a lobby and include a 400-seat theatre.
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