Vermont State Colleges credits state aid and online offerings for small enrollment gains, highlights workforce-focused programs
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Summary
Chancellor Beth Mow told senators that overall enrollment was up about 1.4%, online enrollment rose roughly 10%, and that programs in elementary education, mechanical engineering and health sciences are fueling growth; she cited the 802 Opportunity and Freedom and Unity programs as drivers.
Chancellor Beth Mow told the Senate Education Committee that the Vermont State Colleges System’s overall enrollment rose about 1.4% and online enrollment increased about 10% this year. "We are about 83% Vermonters," she said, noting the system comprises Vermont State University and the Community College of Vermont.
Mow credited state-supported affordability programs—referred to in the hearing as the 802 Opportunity (free community college for qualifying households) and a Freedom and Unity program in partnership with VSAC—for lowering the financial barrier that keeps some students from enrolling. She said these programs and stronger outreach are important drivers of the recent enrollment gains.
The chancellor highlighted growth in specific workforce programs—elementary education, mechanical engineering and several health-science programs—and emphasized the system’s role as a state workforce driver. Mow also described an older and more part-time student population in Vermont that needs flexible formats and microcredentials, and she pointed to apprenticeships and CTE-linked Fast Forward and dual-enrollment arrangements as pathways from high school into college credit.
Mow cited NCLEX results for nursing programs as evidence of program quality and retention: more than 90% pass rates for nursing cohorts and a high proportion of those graduates taking licensure tests in Vermont, indicating they stay in-state. She agreed to provide campus-level enrollment trend data to the committee after the hearing.
