Spring 2003 Enrollment Analysis City College Summary
Headcount and FTES
A total of 14,338 students were enrolled at City College in spring 2003. In comparison with spring 2002 (as of census), student enrollment increased by 203 students or 1.4%. Total FTES also increased by 8.1% over the previous year (3890.66 in spring 2003 vs. 3600.53 in spring 2002).
Demographics
Analysis of the total student population in spring 2003 showed that 72.2% were continuing students, 6.5% were first-time freshmen, 9.7% were first-time transfers, 9.5% were returning students (left the district for more than one year and returned in spring 2003), and 1.4% were current high school students. Continuing students constituted a slightly higher percent (72.2%) of the total student population in spring 2003 than spring 2002 (69.9%). The enrollment of first-time freshmen decreased by 8.7% over spring 2002. Demographic distributions of other variables were very similar to spring 2002, except for a slight increase of Latinos and females.
New Student Enrollment by Service Area
New student enrollment by service area was analyzed and results showed that enrollment of first-time freshmen decreased from the college’s service area as well as areas serving Mesa and Miramar. Student enrollment from outside of the district service area also decreased by over 1%. The total enrollment of first-time transfers remained unchanged for these two semesters; however, slightly more first-time transfers came from Mesa service area and fewer came from Miramar service area.
Residency
In terms of residency status, 95.6% of all students were California residents. Out-of-state non-residents accounted for 3.7% and international students 0.6% of the total student population. Enrollment of international students decreased by 40 students (0.3% of the total student population) in spring 2003. About 78% of the international students were continuing students.
Enrollment by Subject Area
Student enrollment change by subject area was also examined. Only subject areas with 100 or more students in spring 2003 were included in this analysis. The top five subject areas with the largest enrollment increases from spring 2002 to spring 2003 were: (1) Plumbing-PMBG, 57.6%; (2) Dramatic Arts, 38.7%; (3) Engineering, 37.1%; (4) Chemistry, 32%; and (5) Chicano Studies, 31.2%. The top five subject areas with the largest enrollment decreases were: (1) Machine Technology, -35.5%; (2) Electronic Systems, -28.3%; (3) Plumbing-PLBG, -28.3%; (4) Pipefitting-PIPF, -23.6%; and (5) Electricity, -17.5%.
Persistence of First-Time Freshmen
Of all the first-time freshmen enrolled at City College in spring 2002 as of census (N=1,025), 32.4% persisted to spring 2003. This rate is slightly lower than the rate for spring 2002 (35.4% persisted from spring 2001 to spring 2002). The one-year persistence rate of first-time freshman was also broken down by educational objective, gender, and ethnicity. Results showed that students who intended to transfer with an associate degree persisted at a higher rate (37.3%) than those who were undecided (31.4%). Females had a higher persistence rate (36%) than males (29.8%). A higher proportion of Latinos (36.9%) and Asians (37%) persisted from spring 2002 to spring 2003 than other ethnic groups.
In terms of fall-to-spring (one-semester) persistence rate, of the first-time freshmen who were enrolled at the college in fall 2002 as of census (N=1,526), 62.3% persisted to this spring, suggesting a slightly lower one-semester persistence rate than that of last year (63.7% persisted from fall 2001 to spring 2002). Additionally, females had a higher one-semester persistence rate than males. Filipinos, Latinos, Asians, and students reporting “Other” as their ethnic category had higher persistence rates than other ethnic groups. No significant patterns were found in terms of fall-to-spring persistence by educational objective.
In summary, analysis of census enrollment at City College indicated a 1.4% enrollment increase and an 8.1% FTES increase in spring 2003 as compared to spring 2002; however, the enrollment of first-time freshman decreased by nearly 1%. The spring-to-spring and fall-to-spring persistence rates of the first-time freshmen were also compared with data from the previous year. Results showed slightly lower spring-to-spring and fall-to-spring persistence rates than those of spring 2002. Females had a higher persistence rate than males. Additionally, persistence rates of Latinos and Asians were also higher than other ethnic groups for both spring-to-spring and fall-to-spring semesters.