College Enrolls 552 New Students; Enrollment Decline Slows

COURT HOUSE – Atlantic Cape Community College President Dr. Barbara Gaba had good news for the college’s Board of Trustees Jan. 29. The meeting was one of two held each year at the college’s Court House campus.
Gaba said the steep decline in enrollments that has plagued Atlantic Cape for the last several years showed signs of leveling off in the current 2019 spring term.
“In my budget message for FY 2019, I predicted a 5 percent decrease in enrollment. Enrollment was down 5 percent in the fall, but it is down only 2.8 percent this spring,” Gaba said. She compared that number to recent spring terms when enrollment dropped by as much as 12 percent.
Gaba presented the trustees with two significant numbers. “This semester we have 552 new students who have never had an association with the college before,” she noted. She also emphasized the efforts Atlantic Cape has made to reach out to students who had been enrolled but left without getting a degree.
These are what she termed “stop-out” students, saying the college had been aggressive in recruiting them to return. “This spring semester we have 630 of these stop-out students enrolled,” she added.
A program that has helped make a difference in the enrollment trend is Gov. Phil Murphy’s Community College Opportunity Grant (CCOG). The program provides free tuition and educational fees for qualified students.
The student must meet a household income means test and register for six or more credits. Students are also expected to apply for all relevant federal and state financial aid.
Atlantic Cape was one of 13 community colleges selected as part of an inaugural cohort to pilot a program that was a key part of the governor’s campaign. 
Atlantic Cape officials know that it will take time for the precipitous loss of enrollment to abate and potentially begin to grow again. Gaba said that she is encouraged by the impact the CCOG program has had and hoped the state would be able to maintain it as a budget priority. 
Rutgers at Atlantic Cape
Financial help for students is important, but so is the incentive of academic programs designed to accommodate community college students and help them achieve their educational goals.
In her presentation to trustees, Gaba highlighted a program linking Atlantic Cape with Rutgers University, the state’s flagship institution. The program allows students to take Rutgers courses, taught by Rutgers faculty, on location at Atlantic Cape’s main campus in Mays Landing.
Linking these courses with the community college’s own two-year degree program can provide a quicker and financially less burdensome path to a Rutgers degree. A list of joint programs is available on Atlantic Cape’s website (http://www.atlantic.edu/rutgers/). 
Athletics – Small but Important
Time at the Trustees meetings is frequently set aside for briefing trustees on a variety of areas of academics, management or student life. At this meeting, the focus was on a small but important aspect of student affairs, athletics.
Atlantic Cape is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association and it competes in the Garden State Athletic Conference, as a Division III school. The school fields teams in men’s and women’s basketball and men’s baseball. Separately the college maintains an archery club that not only competes in intercollegiate events but has an unparalleled history of national achievement.
The assembled trustees were among the first to hear that women’s volleyball will soon be added to the portfolio.
Nancy Porfido, director of Student Engagement and Athletics, explained that the athletic program was a key aspect of the college’s retention efforts. She also credited the program with gains in community outreach and involvement.
Highlighting each of the sports in turn, Porfido and Coach Chad Affunti made sure the new trustees were aware of the long and outstanding history of the archery program.
Begun in the 1970s by its legendary founder, Dr. Helen Bolnick, a national force in the sport, the program competes in the USA Archery Colligate Division against two-year and four-year institutions.  he program boasts nine team national championships and seven individual collegiate national champions, along with 50 collegiate all-American archers and two individual collegiate world champions.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.