Aims Community College Offering Three Credits Free this Fall for In-district Residents

The College is offering this tuition discount as a continuation of its efforts to help the community recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and help incentivize students to enroll in classes again.

Shifting Enrollment Numbers

Since COVID-19 hit, hundreds of thousands of students around the country have “stopped out” (i.e. taken a pause in enrollment). Higher education institutions everywhere are struggling to recover their enrollment numbers and get students back on track toward degree and program completion.

Aims experienced a nearly 30% decline in enrollments after the onset of COVID-19 and throughout last year. “Every aspect of our students' lives changed as a result of COVID-19. Priorities changed and life goals changed,” said Dr. Sarah Wyscaver, vice president for Student Engagement, Inclusion and Success at Aims. 

In an effort to re-engage students and help them cover the costs of college, Aims offered free tuition to in-district students during the Summer 2021 semester. As a result, Aims saw a 50% year-over-year increase in enrollments from 2020 to 2021. “Free tuition was a huge incentive for students and provided an opportunity for them to see what Aims was about,” said Wyscaver.

More Efforts to Help Students this Fall

In addition to offering up to three credits free for in-district students, Wyscaver said, “Aims has redesigned our services, classes, and engagement activities to respond to a post COVID-19 environment where students will have even more flexibility to follow their dreams through education. We also recently launched a new team called Aims Enrollment and Re-Engagement Outreach who will be serving students directly impacted by COVID-19.”

To learn more about Aims’ tuition discount and enrolling in fall courses, visit the Aims Community College website.