MCC is offering incentives for students amid a pandemic that caused enrollment to slump.
McLennan Community College’s fall enrollment is slowly rebounding from the hit it took last year when the pandemic forced the college to adopt hybrid classes, masking and social distancing.
In the meantime, MCC is continuing to try to win students back by offering scholarships, debt repayment and even direct payments to student accounts.
With a week before classes begin on Aug. 23, student enrollment stood at 6,213 students, up from the 6,026 recorded at this time last year, but still markedly lower than a pre-pandemic average of more than 8,000.
“It’s really kind of flat,” said Stephen Benson, vice president for finance and administration.
The slight uptick occurred after the college rolled out several incentives in spring and summer aimed at lowering financial barriers for students by shaving hundreds of dollars off tuition and other school costs.
Money from the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief designated for COVID-19 relief enabled the college to make direct payments of $250 to $870 to students enrolled in summer classes with payments of $375 to $1,500 for fall students.
Payment size depended on student need, as determined by Pell Grant eligibility, and is available for dual credit and undocumented students. International students need to apply for the payments through MCC’s financial aid office.
