As many other community colleges did, Copper Mountain College suffered from a decline in enrollment during the Covid-19 pandemic. On Friday’s (August 23) Z1077 Up Close Show, CMC Superintendent and Presiden Dr. Daren Otten shared some good news about recent enrollment.
Dr. Otten: “Our enrollments, like many colleges, saw a decline in enrollment during the pandemic. We did not see the severe decline that many schools saw. I’m happy to share that at the end of 2023-2024, we are essentially back to our pre-pandemic numbers. We’ve recovered those students that faced challenges attending school during the pandemic.
As we’re looking ahead to this school year, it’s crazy. Our parking lot is definitely different than it has been in a while. As of yesterday, we have 1,767 students. At the same time last year, it was 1,260. We’re talking about an increase of 500 students. That’s huge.”
Dr. Otten added that many of the new students are taking classes remotely, saying they may never even step foot in the Morongo Basin.
You can hear Daigneault’s full conversation below, or subscribe to the Up Close Show as a podcast.
