Big Bend enrollment rises in winter quarter
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Katie Thomas works on an assignment in the Big Bend Community College library Tuesday. Big Bend enrollment has increased between winter quarter 2019 and wi
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend Community College student Gaydi Hernandez works on an assignment in the college library Tuesday. Enrollment at BBCC has increased between winter quar
Cheryl Schweizer/Columbia Basin Herald Big Bend Community College student Alejandro Vizcarra works on an assignment in the BBCC library Tuesday. The college's enrollment has increased between wi
State funding
drops slightly
MOSES LAKE — Enrollment is trending up at Big Bend Community College, but the makeup of the student body means that state funding is not quite keeping pace.
Total enrollment for all students, full-time and part-time, was 2,593 as of Feb. 18. Winter quarter enrollment on Feb 18, 2019, was 2,438 students, according to information from registrar Starr Barnhart.
Big Bend, or any college receiving state money, is paid something for every student enrolled, including people taking evening classes or online classes and part-time students. The amount of money varies, but the college gets some money in proportion to the number of classes in which the student is enrolled.
But colleges receive less money for students in the Running Start program.
Running Start is a program for high school students that allows qualifying juniors and seniors to attend classes at community and technical colleges around the state. The program awards both high school and college credits. Running Start students don’t pay tuition, although they pay any class fees and for required instructional materials.
Matt Killebrew, BBCC director of communications, said the college receives less money for Running Start students than for college students paying tuition. Funding for a Running Start student is about 30 to 35 percent of what the college would get if the same student were a full-time college student paying tuition, Killebrew wrote. “So as the student headcounts rise with the addition of more Running Start students, the tuition reimbursement from the state does not,” he wrote.
Big Bend officials also are working on ways to increase overall enrollment, Killebrew wrote. College officials have expanded the online and evening course offerings and are working on an applied bachelor’s degree program. The Workforce Education Center is designed for students working on technical degrees and workforce training. Big Bend also is partnering with Moses Lake School District on the “Open Doors” program, he said, designed for students 16 to 21 years of age who have faced challenges in a traditional school setting.
Enrollment in the college’s online and night courses increased in winter quarter 2020 when compared with winter quarter 2019, Barnhart said.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.
