By Adam Kramer
Public education in the borough seems to have become more attractive to high school students with both of Queens’ four-year public universities witnessing a jump in enrollment.
York College in Jamaica and Queens College in Flushing cited a number of reasons for the increase, including an active recruiting effort, an easier application process and positive press about the schools and their programs.
“Enrollment is going up and I think there are several factors,” said Avis Hendrickson, vice president for enrollment at York. “York College is regarded as the college in southeast Jamaica and the place were the community looks toward for their educational needs.”
Ronald Thomas, an associate dean at York, said the 2002 spring semester marked the first time that York had shown an increase in enrollment over the last few years with 185 more students than last year for a 3.5 percent increase.
Ron Cannava, a spokesman for Queens College, said the enrollment was up substantially, but he did not have the exact numbers.
Both York and Queens College officials attributed some of the rise in enrollment to the weak economy, which has made it difficult for some students to pay tuitions at more expensive private colleges. Queens’ two public four-year colleges are part of the City University of New York.
Thomas said York has mounted a campaign in Queens to attract borough students. The school was running advertisements in borough newspapers and going to local community groups, both religious and civic, to talk to people about York ‘s programs.
York, Thomas said, has already held two open houses to answer any questions prospective students or their parents might have. The next open house on April 14 is expected to attract 350 to 400 potential students.
“The campaign has focused on southeast Queens and the ethnically diverse communities of Flushing and Corona,” Thomas said. “We will look towards attracting students from western Queens before Manhattan.”
In addition to the push to attract students, he said, York has benefited from positive media coverage. Thomas said having U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, speak at last year’s graduation was a big boost for the school.
Thomas said York has two programs — occupational therapy and transportation/aviation — that are not offered at any of the other city schools. Having the Food and Drug Administration on campus, where students can get internships, is also a big help, he noted.
“We have been making a strong effort to increase our enrollment, Cannava said of Queens College. “And we think that has had an effect on the increase in the student population.”
Like York, Queens College has made a big advertising push to attract students and has been holding open houses for prospective students, he said.
Queens College also centralized its admissions and communications into one central office.
“The web or the Internet is useful to students, and we have become more attuned to the fact that students use it to acquire information” about the school and the admissions process, Cannava said.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
