BLINN BOARD HEARS FALL ENROLLMENT REPORT, UPDATE ON DISTRICTWIDE MASTER PLAN

  

Blinn College enrolled a higher-than-expected number of students for the Fall 2020 semester.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Trustees, officials were informed that despite COVID-19’s impact, the College’s certified Fall 2020 enrollment was 17,956 students.  That figure is down 6.6 percent from the 19,183 students who enrolled in Fall 2019, but the College had previously incorporated a 20 percent enrollment decline into its current budget.

To minimize the number of individuals on campus, Blinn offered a wider array of online classes in accordance with its Back With Blinn health and safety plan established in the summer.  Almost all classes that included a face-to-face component also featured remote instruction using live classroom cameras.

The Fall 2020 enrollment report showed 4,495 students opted for online-only instruction, a 65.38 percent increase over Fall 2019.  Enrollment at the RELLIS Campus also increased 6.34 percent with 2,752 students.

Blinn enrolled 1,959 students on the Brenham Campus, 6,776 students on the Bryan Campus, and 1,690 dual credit students.  The Schulenburg Campus enrolled 94 students, and 54 students registered to attend the Sealy Campus.  The College recorded 3,220,960 contact hours, down 8.74 percent from last fall.

In other business, the board received an update on the master planning process, including a summary of vision sessions and planning workshops held in October and November.  In its presentation to the board, the consulting firm Gensler outlined its progress, which includes data gathering and space utilization, labor market, and demographic analysis.  Gensler plans to develop a preliminary master plan in January and February, with a final master plan to be approved by trustees in the spring.

The board also approved the annual financial report for Fiscal Year 2020. The report received a clean audit from Lott, Vernon, and Company prior to its presentation to the board and now will be submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.  A copy of the audit will become part of the board’s official minutes and will be available to the public for inspection during regular office hours.

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada recently awarded Blinn its Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting after determining that Blinn’s 2019 comprehensive annual financial report met its highest standards.