Southern Oregon community colleges, like most of state, seeing decreasing enrollment

Jenna King January 14, 2021

Last Updated: January 14, 2021

MEDFORD, Ore. —Higher education has taken a hit statewide, here in Oregon community colleges have been hit especially hard though, as the community college student population has dropped 23%.

Here in the Rogue Valley the trend is also seen at community colleges.

Rogue Community College says they have seen a 26% decrease in enrollment in the fall term and says the same is looking likely for the winter.

RCC President, Cathy Kemper-Pelle says they are seeing the greatest student decline in enrollment from part time students.

“We are seeing high school graduates not going directly to college during covid, we’re seeing adult enrollments significantly down,” says Kemper-Pelle.

Klamath Community College says from last year they have lost about 200 students enrolled in their academic programs.

Jenna King January 14, 2021

Jenna King

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.