According to The Knoxville News Sentinel, The Tennessee Board of Regents announced recently that enrollment at community colleges in Tennessee is down by 11.5% compared to last year, or about 10,000 students.
Community colleges across the state saw large declines in the number of Black students enrolled, and more specifically, among Black male students. The enrollment drop follows a nationwide trend of declining enrollment at community colleges, which means there will be a large financial impact for Tennessee’s colleges.
Russ Deaton, executive vice chancellor for policy and strategy for the Tennessee Board of Regents told The News Sentinel that the decline is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession.
Nationwide, community colleges are showing the highest enrollment decreases, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. In fact, community college enrollment nationwide is down by about 7.5%.
