ICC fall 2022 enrollment increases, NEMCC decreases

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TUPELO • Itawamba Community College's fall 2022 enrollment increased while Northeast Mississippi Community College's decreased, according to preliminary data released by the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB) this week.

The MCCB Fall 2022 Preliminary Community College Headcount Enrollment report is a headcount of students self-reported by each community college on the tenth day of enrollment.

A total of 4,701 students were enrolled at ICC in fall 2022 compared to 4,641 in fall 2021. That's an addition of 60 students, which is a 1.3% increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, there were 3,151 students enrolled at NEMCC in fall 2022 compared to 3,284 in fall 2021. That's a decrease of 133 students, which is a 4% decrease from the previous year.

ICC opened Magnolia Hall, a state-of-the-art residence hall for honors students and student leaders, in August on its Fulton campus, which accommodates 246 additional students. Along with that, an increased emphasis has been placed on student activities which plays a role in attracting students, ICC President Dr. Jay Allen said.

Allen said the news is exciting and places the college on an upward trend toward pre-pandemic enrollment levels.

"The increase in the number of students that ICC is serving is significant because we have additional opportunities to provide a solid educational foundation and the best start for those in our five-county district and beyond," Allen said.

NEMCC President Dr. Ricky G. Ford said the college has learned from school counselors at the K-12 level that more students are simply not going to college after graduating high school.

He blames Northeast's decline in enrollment this year on that trend, along with lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said the college is looking into working with an outside agency to establish contact with students who have graduated from high school but not enrolled at a college.

"I'm not one to get caught up on the numbers," Ford said. "I'm more concerned with those kids that are graduating from high school and not getting any kind of skill because five or ten years from now, they're going to wake up and say 'I need a job.'"

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Blake covers education for the Daily Journal.