Madalynn Wilson
Lantern Staff
From fall 2018, enrollment has taken a hit, but faculty and staff is working to retain students in multiple ways, including a revamp to their learning strategies and an additional class for freshmen.
Butler saw its highest enrollment numbers in 2012, during the tail end of the recession that hit in 2009. This pattern is common for many community colleges as many people find the need for a retooling as unemployment rises. Since the uptick in 2012, enrollment numbers at Butler have been steadily on the decline as the economy improves.
Besides the economic factor, Butler also has competition with other public and private schools in the South-Central Kansas area, specifically Wichita Tech, as well as online options for students. They also struggle to encourage high school students in the area to finish at Butler instead of heading to a four-year university.
“Butler reaches lots of students through our high school partnerships and many of those students get Butler credit prior to their high school graduation,” Director of Marketing Kelly Snedden said, “Many of them then go directly to their selected four-year institution rather than stay and finish at Butler first.”
To combat these issues, Butler is working on ways to update its approach to learning. One of these ways is the implementation of AVID, Advancement Via Individual Determination, into the classrooms. AVID has been used for over 30 years in high schools, but for the past several years, they have moved to higher education.
It has changed the way Butler instructors use classroom time to engage with students in a way that will allow them to be more successful in those classes. Butler has even been commended by the National AVID in Higher Education for the implementation of their learning strategies.
Another part of the retention effort was adding a PDX class for first-semester freshmen last year. These classes began last year as a way to help students see all the possibilities of higher education, specifically at Butler. The hope for them is that they will help retain students who already attend Butler.
“The PDX classes are part of a retention effort and the results after having done it for one year are good,” Cory Teubner, the head of the PDX classes said, “Close to 20 percent of students were more likely to be retained than similar students who did not take that course. It seems like it’s working.”
Teubner has also encouraged the PDX instructors along with others to make more of an effort to connect with their students. Freshman Morgan Rogers, a criminal justice major, has noticed this with her PDX instructor, Miles Erpelding and her Intro to Criminal Justice instructor, Jeffrey Tymony. Both of which she feels work to make a personal connection with her.
Although all these retention efforts have started to show promise, Butler still has a ways to go if they want to get back up to their 2012 numbers.