BRYAN, Texas — The Blinn campus in Bryan is experiencing lower enrollment numbers this Spring. The two-year college breaks down why the numbers are lower for this semester versus years past.
“Overall, district wide, we have already exceeded last Spring’s numbers, great news,” said Richard Bray, Director of Communications, Blinn College.
We did see a dip in spring enrollment on the Bryan campus and there was some conversation as to why that is.
Richard Bray is the director of communications for Blinn College.
He says fall enrollment is typically higher than spring in due to an influx of recently graduated high school students in May.
“It’s important to realize, we wanted to decrease enrollment here a little bit,” Bray said.
“When we were at 13,000, frankly, we were crowded here. It was hard to find a parking spot. Students were reluctant to leave between classes because they were afraid if they left campus, they weren’t going to find a parking spot.”
In Fall 2023, Blinn Bryan had 6,103 students enrolled.
An additional 3, 802 students were enrolled at the Blinn RELLIS campus, equaling a total of nearly 10,000 students in Bryan.
“Part of it was strategic, part of it was we wanted to move students off of this campus, part of it was COVID-19 and the impact that had on higher education enrollments across the country, and some of it is students choosing other campuses, or choosing other alternatives, or choosing online,” Bray said.
Bray says the affordability and high transferability attracts students to Blinn.
Jacob Issa is a second-year mechanical engineering student at the Blinn Bryan campus.
He wanted to be able to afford his education and have the option to transfer to Texas A&M.
“I would recommend it because it’s a lot cheaper and you get the same knowledge,” said Jacob Issa, Mechanical Engineering student, Blinn College.
This December, 750 students graduated from Blinn Bryan which increased Fall numbers but not Spring.
“How can we kind of change the environment here at Blinn Bryan, how can we change the environment district wide,” Bray said.
Looking at all districts within the Blinn College system, with Spring registration still being open, these are the current enrollment numbers for 2024:
- Blinn Bryan- 4,717
- Blinn RELLIS- 3,152
- Brenham- 1,561
- Schulenburg- 48
- Sealy- 24
- Waller- 2
While enrollment numbers continue to drop at the Blinn Bryan campus, overall enrollment at all Blinn campuses continue to grow with nearly 20,000 students across its six campuses and online.