BSC Has Slight Decline in Enrollment

| 2/24/2012

Bismarck State College released their spring enrollment numbers and said that overall, enrollment is down. Currently, there are 3,887 students enrolled at the school, which is a decrease of 2.4 percent from last year.

Part-time enrollment at the school increased by 7.5 percent and full-time enrollment was down by 8.5 percent. The school cites a lack of affordable housing for students and the strong job market as reasons for the decline in enrollment.

"The influx of residents into the community due to the Bakken boom has driven up rental costs and depleted available affordable housing for our students," said BSC President Larry C. Skogen. "To address this, we are already engaged in discussions about building new housing on our campus."

Skogen adds that North Dakota`s young men are becoming more likely to work in the Bakken for $80,000 per year now than they are to spend money earning a two-year degree for later.

COMMENT ON THIS STORY