Colleagues,

 

As we move further into the fall term, I want to share a few early successes, acknowledge some challenges, and look ahead to opportunities to serve our students even better.

 

 

Our official fall enrollment numbers are in. EICC is serving 7,832 students this fall, a 1.8% increase over last year. Students are enrolled in 63,042.50 credit hours, representing a 1.6% increase. We also saw 5,637 students complete the FAFSA, helping them access financial resources to support their education.

 

While the growth is modest, it reflects significant work across EICC. Staff answered questions, processed applications and financial-aid files, advised students, built schedules, resolved barriers, and prepared courses and classrooms. Thank you for the persistence and care you brought to helping students take this important step toward their hopes and dreams.

 

Our numbers also reveal challenges requiring our attention. More students enrolled late in the process this fall, leaving them less time to arrange financial aid, obtain course materials, or prepare for college expectations. These students may be at greater risk of falling behind, making early outreach, timely feedback, and connections to support especially important.

 

We also enrolled fewer students directly from high school. This shift reflects the beginning of the enrollment cliff facing higher education, along with growing questions from students and families about return on investment. Our opportunity is to clearly demonstrate the value of an EICC education through affordable pathways, meaningful learning, strong transfer options, and direct connections to careers.

 

 

The transition to EICC’s Canvas environment is progressing well overall. Moving our courses into a new system required a tremendous amount of work, and I am grateful to our faculty and staff for the time, patience, and care you invested in preparing courses and supporting students. We continue working through a few course-material hiccups, but each week brings progress.

 

We are also beginning to explore how Canvas can help us support students more intentionally. Intelligent Insights may help us recognize when a student needs additional support and reach out sooner. Discussion prompts and student-facing instructions are being refined to clarify expectations and encourage participation. Another priority is identifying a feasible Dropout Detective solution ahead of the Element 451 implementation.

 

As you continue refining your courses, remember the Preparing Your Fall Courses section in the Instructor Resource Center. It includes helpful tips, practical guidance, and ideas for strengthening your course. If you would like individual assistance, please complete the support form so a member of the team can connect with you.

 

 

Our Facilities teams accomplished a great deal during an especially hot summer. Across EICC, they worked to refresh, repair, clean, and prepare our spaces so students and employees could return to safe and welcoming campuses.

 

Significant projects included renovation of Gaekle Hall at Muscatine, painting and concrete work at Clinton, finishing touches at the Bickelhaupt, and parking lot work at Scott. The SCC team is also preparing space to move the EMT program to SCC Main campus while CCC is in the design phase for the remodeled nursing and IT spaces.  

 

 

We have also experienced the loss of two students during these opening weeks. Our thoughts are with their families, friends, classmates, and the faculty and staff who knew them. Loss affects each person differently, and I encourage everyone to remain attentive to students and colleagues who may need additional care or support.

 

Please remember the mental health resources available to students, as well as support available to employees through the PAS Employee Assistance Program. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is notice when someone is struggling and help connect them with the right resource.

 

 

A strong start matters, but what we do next will determine how many students remain engaged, make progress, and achieve their hopes and dreams.

 

Under the leadership of Cami McBee and Mike Beane, we will continue leaning into Guided Pathways and examining the student experience from the first point of contact through completion. This work will help us clarify pathways, strengthen advising and support, remove unnecessary barriers, and ensure students understand their next steps.

 

Next month, we are preparing to launch Element 451. Considerable work has gone into preparing the system, and this work will continue throughout the launch and implementation. Element 451 will help us communicate more effectively and consistently with both current and prospective students. It will also allow us to better understand where students are in their journeys and provide targeted interventions, timely reminders, and relevant support when they need it most.

 

Thank you for everything you have done to help us begin the term. More importantly, thank you for continuing to notice, encourage, guide, and support our students as they work toward the futures they imagine.

 

Sincerely,