Yuba College sees strong enrollment growth, signaling recovery from pandemic declines

Chrystal GillmingCollege News, Press Releases

Yuba College sees strong enrollment growth, signaling recovery from pandemic declines

(September 4, 2024) Marysville, Calif. – Yuba College, located in Northern California, is seeing significant growth in student enrollment, signaling the college has recovered from the declines experienced by higher education institutions nationwide following the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the height of the pandemic in fall 2020, the college’s student headcount dropped to just under 5,700 students that semester. Headcount for fall 2024 has surged to over 6,400 students—a significant 12% rebound from the pandemic low. This brings the college over the top of its pre-pandemic peak of just over 6,300 students in fall of 2019.

Dr. Tawny Dotson, who began her role as YC’s President amid the pandemic, credits the faculty and staff for their unwavering commitment to students.

“In addressing recovery from the COVID-impacted enrollment declines, we were strategic in identifying how we’d approach re-engagement and outreach to students. That work is paying off after investments in staffing that support the enrollment process, strengthening our outreach to key demographics, and revising our scheduling process to be focused on student needs and protecting the re-growth of face-to-face courses,” said Dotson.

Substantial growth in college programs and courses includes a 139% increase in art course enrollments, a 65% increase in biology course enrollments, and a 52% increase in business administration enrollments.

“I’m thrilled to see our programs growing so much. It shows that we’re on the right track with our plan to adapt and meet our students’ needs,” Dotson said.

She went on to share that this growth only led to a slight increase in the average class size, from 26 in 2020-21 to 28 in 2023-24, allowing the Collegeto maintain the low student-to-faculty ratio that students expect of a college its size.

Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Jeremy Brown says the College is launching several new programs and initiatives, which he anticipates will continue the upward trend in enrollment. These include a teacher preparation cohort in partnership with Chico State, allowing students to earn their bachelor’s degree from the university while attending courses on ground at the YC Marysville campus or online, and expanding the Natural Resources Programs in partnership with the Yuba Water Agency.

Additionally, the College has committed to not canceling courses less than two weeks before the start of class, a strategy that Brown credits with the significant decline in cancellation rates from 23.6% in 2020-21 to 6.5% in 2023-24.

According to Brown, “We knew there were students who weren’t returning yet because they wanted face-to-face classes, so we needed to commit to not cancelling those, even if they were low enrolled, and it seems to have worked.”

In an effort to better meet the needs of the students, the College has tried to be more flexible in the way that it offers classes. This has included the expansion of late-start course offerings to suit students’ needs, and the increase of faculty adoption of low-cost or free textbooks with the goal of a Zero Textbook Cost program.

Brown said, “We’re looking forward to continuing this momentum and making sure every student gets the support and education they deserve.”

For more information about YC visit yc.yccd.edu.

About Yuba College:
Yuba College is committed to providing equitable student learning and success. We offer degree and
certificate programs leading to career and transfer opportunities for our diverse communities. It is our
vision to provide innovative and student-centered educational opportunities and services that are
equitable and that empower students to become transformative and productive members of our
communities.