Virginia Peninsula Community College anticipates enrollment growth of more than 7% for the spring 2024 semester.
Citing preliminary figures, Jeffrey Bonavita, interim director of Institutional Research at the College, expects the final official count for credit instruction this spring to be nearly 6,260 students, and roughly 3,270 for full-time equivalent students (FTES).
The numbers represent more than a 7% increase in headcount and more than a 5% increase in students compared to final numbers from spring 2023.
Bonavita couldn’t point to any one factor for the increase in enrollment.
“It is really unusual to see such growth in enrollment during a spring semester,” he said. “Everyone at VPCC has been putting in an immense amount of work and really transforming how we do business. It seems to be working, and I’m hopeful that this enrollment growth will continue into next year, and beyond.”
Enrollment at community colleges across the state appears to be on the upswing. Data from the Virginia Community College System showed a 3.4% increase overall at its 23 institutions from fall 2022 to fall 2023.