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This study examines enrollment melt patterns in a community college campus, aiming to quantify the predictive factors associated with students’ likelihood of melting. Using a combination of survey and administrative data from applicants to a California Community College campus in Southern California, the author estimates changes in enrollment probability associated with various student-level factors, such as applications to multiple institutions and confidence in academic performance. This research aims to enhance comprehension of enrollment melt dynamics, providing insights that can guide strategies to tackle enrollment challenges in community colleges.

Author(s)

Gala M. Ledezma is a Ph.D. student in the UC Irvine School of Education,
specializing in Education Policy. She earned her master’s in public policy
from the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. Her research
interests involve higher education policy and program evaluation, with a
specific focus on community colleges and understanding student trajectories.

References

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Endnotes

  1. Much of the existing melt research focuses on high school students’
    transition to college, called summer melt, which refers to the subset of
    enrollment melt that occurs during the summer months between high school
    graduation and the start of the college semester. This study uses the
    term enrollment melt to refer to the broader phenomenon in which
    students who have been admitted into a college ultimately do not enroll
    in the fall semester. Recognizing that students who attend community
    college may have non-traditional pathways, this article uses a term that
    encompasses the overall loss of students between the acceptance stage
    and the actual enrollment stage.

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