By Lisa Rossi lrossi
The Herald-Sun
Friday, June 20, 2008

DURHAM -- Several Durham Technical Community College students dropped out of summer school this year because gas prices made the commute too expensive, college officials said.

They, along with community college officials statewide, said they will watch enrollment this summer and fall for possible declines. Some community college officials said gas prices could discourage students from attending.

"I've never had any student come to me to tell me that gas was an issue until this summer," said Wanda Maggart, a senior vice president of institutional and student support services at Durham Tech.

Colleges nationwide are also concerned that gas prices could affect students' ability to enroll, and have watched online enrollments spike this summer.

In response, North Carolina and Durham colleges have pushed students to craft their schedules so they come to campus fewer times a week. Others suggest students take online classes. At least one college in North Carolina might ask employees to work four days a week to reduce their gas costs.

Enrollment concerns are a setback to community college institutions, which have watched enrollments increase in an economic slowdown and as students seek lower-cost alternatives to four-year institutions.

Students commute from around Durham and surrounding counties to Durham Tech, officials said.

This summer, 2,321 students enrolled at Durham Tech, a 4 percent drop from the 2,429 students who enrolled last summer. It is a dip college officials partially attribute to the cost of gas.

They are unsure how many students will enroll this fall. A total of 25,444 enrolled at Durham Tech in fiscal year 2006-07, the most recent numbers available from the N.C. Community College system office.

Community colleges also attract more low-income students than other higher education institutions, which aggravates the issue of gas prices, colleges say. In North Carolina, students commute to the 58 community colleges, which do not have on-campus dormitories, said Audrey Bailey, a spokeswoman with the N. C. Community College system office.

Despite efforts to rearrange class schedules at Durham Tech to reduce commuting days, students and parents are bracing for major changes in their plans.

Kimberly Daniel, a Durham resident, said her son might have to drop to part-time in his engineering program at Durham Tech so he can hold down a job to pay for trips to and from school.

"I'm worried about the future," she said.

Students report that class attendance has dwindled this summer, part of which they attribute to gas prices hiking the cost of a commute.

Kayla Turner, 19, said four weeks ago, 20 students attended her Durham Tech Spanish class.

Now, about eight show up, said Turner, a freshman.

The soaring gas prices also hurt students at four-year institutions.

Nicole Garrett, an N.C. State senior, said she has skipped class many days because it's too expensive to commute from a far side of Durham to campus.

Garrett, 21, said she uses all the money she earns from a part-time job in retail to pay to gas up her Dodge Intrepid.

She also works as a tattoo artist to help pay for school, she said.

It costs her $180 a week in gas to pay for the commutes to her jobs and to campus, she said.

Colleges statewide have also searched for solutions to the gas price crisis.

Gaston College in Gastonia is studying how to expand bus service and make it more convenient for students.

Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte is studying a model where employees would work four 10-hour days, to eliminate one day's commute, said Jerri Haigler, a college spokeswoman.

If approved, the college would stagger schedules so offices would be open five days a week, Haigler said.

Officials at Durham Tech oppose that sort of policy change on their campus.

A four-day work week presents a different set of costs and hardships for employees, said Maggart, the Durham Tech senior vice president.

For example, child care costs increase for people who have to pick up children after 6 p.m., she said. Longer workdays also disrupt family or other evening commitments employees might have, she said.

National advocates for community colleges have also monitored enrollment this summer as gas prices rose.

Some students have said they might sit out a semester as a result of gas prices, said Norma Kent, vice president of communications at the American Association of Community Colleges in Washington, D.C.

Colleges nationally are seeing significant spikes in online enrollments, including South Texas College in McAllen, Texas, which reported a 34.2 percent increase in online summer enrollment over last year, Kent said.

Durham Tech also saw increases in students who took online classes. This spring, 168 more students enrolled for online courses than in spring of 2007, a 14.2 percent increase, college staff said.