By Philip Newman
Despite a tuition hike, an ailing economy and scarce jobs, enrollment applications are up nearly 20 percent at LaGuardia Community College in a trend recorded at all CUNY colleges in Queens.
“I believe our increase is due to LaGuardia’s growing reputation for excellent faculty and great programs,” said Gail Mellow, president of the Long Island City college.
“We’re called the World’s Community College because we address the needs of both native New Yorkers and the immigrant community of Queens, including financial aid.”
Some officials of Queens CUNY schools suggested the rise in applications might have something to do with high unemployment and a conclusion that further education was vital for getting a job.
Several said students have come to realize that even with the tuition increase, CUNY schools are a good deal.
Citywide enrollment applications rose 12.2 percent in the City University of New York system.
Besides the enrollment increase of 19.9 percent at LaGuardia, applications for a slot at Queens’ three other CUNY colleges were: Queensborough Community College up 10.9 percent, Queens College up 6 percent and York College up 3.9 percent.
College officials noted that the percentage increases listed are for “applications for admission,” which do not always mean that all those applying for enrollment actually become students.
Critics of the increases in tuition (now $4,000 per year at four-year colleges vs. $3,200 and up by $300 to $2,800 at two-year schools) had predicted a drop in the numbers of students in a repeat of what occurred eight years ago, the last time tuitions were raised.
Hostos Community College of the Bronx reported a through-the-roof jump of 58.3 percent in applications. Dr. Ben Corpus, vice president for student development and enrollment, said Hostos had undergone significant changes in the past year, including expanded academic and program offerings, the addition of competitive athletic teams and higher student satisfaction.
“There is a new and contagious school spirit that has drawn out the best the college has to offer and word is getting out,” Corpus said.
Elsewhere in the CUNY system, applications at City College of New York were up 19.8 percent; Manhattan Borough Community College up 18.8 percent; College of Staten Island up 18.3 percent; Bronx Community College up 16.4 percent; Lehman up 14.4 percent; Hunter up 12.4 percent; Brooklyn College up 11.7 percent; Medgar Evers up 10 percent; John Jay up 7.6 percent; Baruch up 6.7 percent; Kingsborough Community College up 7 percent; and New York City College of Technology up 2.4 percent.
“The increase in enrollment may be due to many persons re-examining their career possibilities and seeing a need for further education, a growing visibility and awareness of what we at Queensborough are offering and perhaps many have found that it’s a bargain,” said Susan Curtis, director of marketing and communications at Queensborough Community College in Bayside.
Dr. Avis Hendrickson, vice president for enrollment management at York College in Jamaica, said it was not yet possible to know all the factors that contributed to the increases in applications.
“But if many of these students had decided that we offer a particularly high quality of education and that as such even after the higher tuition we offer a great value, that would certainly be a valid conclusion.”
Maria Terrone, spokeswoman for Queens College, attributed the increase in applications to the fact that Queens College is well known as an institution of “high quality that is still affordable.”
Terrone pointed out that the latest Princeton Review list of “Best 351 Colleges, “which included Queens College, Brooklyn College and Hunter College.
The City University system is comprised of 11 four-year colleges, six two-year community colleges, a graduate school, a law school and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.
“Prospective students and their families appreciate the value of a CUNY degree, the high quality of faculty and the extraordinary success of our graduates,” said CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. “As they assess rising college costs and the availability of the many public and private financial aid programs, New Yorkers are making choices about how to best advance their educational goals. They are choosing the colleges of the City University of New York.”
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136.
