Butler County Community College is stopping its face-to-face program to accept credit on its Lindepointe campus to deal with Pennsylvania’s enrollment hassle and imminent population cliffs. These plans are scheduled to continue in the spring semester and close in August.
Enrollment rates on Lindepointe campus fell sharply, from 300 students in fall 2014 to 45 students in fall 2024, a particularly steep decline during the pandemic, according to a press release from the college on Tuesday.
“Our numbers are not rebounding to sustainable levels,” Joshua Novak, vice president of student affairs and admissions management, said in a press release.
University leaders estimate that the end-of-person program will save about $450,000 a year.
Students in Mercer County, where the Lindepointe campus is located, can still take online courses and participate in dual enrollment and workforce training programs, including emergency medical and fire department training for local fire departments. The college has committed to developing a degree completion program for each student, which may include online courses or courses taught at five other locations. All other campuses continue to offer in-person courses for tuition. Although the university plans to “explore opportunities” for them, including potential reallocation, it is unclear what will happen to Lindepointe’s faculty, according to the release.
The move was considered before the university, but ultimately did not push for plans to teach its Lindepointe courses and courses at Penn State in Shenango, as part of a potential partnership between the two institutions.
“Although we looked at potential partnerships and alternative models, we were unable to identify a viable solution,” Megan Coval, interim president of the college, said in a press release.
