Enrollment Drop Causes $3M Shortfall For Ocean County College: Report

Ocean County College has instituted a hiring freeze to cope with a $3 million gap in its budget caused by a shortfall in enrollment, according to a report.

The Asbury Park Press report says the community college has seen a 7 percent decline in enrollment this year, compared with last year’s student numbers.

This fall college officials expected about 7,300 full-time students to take courses. In fact, only 6,950 full-time students enrolled, Sara Winchester, the college’s vice president of finance, told the college’s Board of Trustees, according to the report. Total fall enrollment, including part-time students, was 8,663 this year, down 633 students, or about 7 percent, from the 2014 fall semester.

That resulted in $32.8 million in tuition income, or $3.1 million less than what was anticipated, according to a memo from Winchester to college President Jon H. Larson, the Press report said.

The college has renegotiated contracts with vendors and dipped into the school’s reserves to close the budget gap. They are also reaching across the state and world for new partnerships they hope will bolster the college’s numbers.

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