Wells College and Cayuga Community College have seen the impact of the recession on their student enrollment this summer, but it appears that impact is veering off in different directions.

While Wells' overall enrollment has dipped a bit - though the extent to which won't be fully known for another month - CCC is seeing a record number of students planning on walking its corridors at both the Auburn and Fulton campuses when the fall semester begins Aug. 31.

As of July 24, there are 865 new, first-time students registered at CCC for the fall semester, with 488 attending the Auburn campus and 377 in Fulton, President Daniel Larson said. This time last year, there were 591 students registered, with 387 attending Auburn and 204 going to Fulton.

Overall, the number of new students registered is up 32 percent. Divided by campus, there is a 21 percent increase in new students registered in Auburn, and at Fulton a 54 percent increase, Larson said.

On top of that, applications for admittance at both campuses combined was up 26 percent, and the college admitted 31 percent more than last year.

As of last week, the current enrollment stands at 2,732, with 2,048 students attending full-time and 684 part-time.

“The real caution here is that we won't know until classes start, when we see the whites of their eyes,” Larson said of the enrollment, since all of these numbers are subject to change, “but it looks very positive. Frankly, this is uncharted territory for the college. I don't think in this history of the college we have ever seen such a difference from one year to the next in terms of what those numbers look like.”

The college is not just seeing unprecedented numbers in enrollment. According to Larson, the college's financial aid office awarded 50 percent more aid this year than last. He believes that statistic is a telling sign of why CCC is seeing such an boost in students this year.

“We certainly think the economy is a major factor, that students and families are being very careful in how to use their resources for higher education,” he said. “Because we are literally the best value - I'm talking about all community colleges - we are the best value in education today, it makes sense from the vantage point of finances to send students for the first couple of years, let them do their first two years of studies here and from that point, whether they transfer on to a four-year college or go into the work force, it is very cost-effective.”

As CCC sees an increase in students, Wells is preparing for stagnant enrollment, if not a slight decrease.

Though Wells received 1,500 applications this year, a higher number of applications than usual, and accepted 1,100, only 155 student will be traversing its campus in Aurora, according to Director of Admissions Susan Sloan. That is the same number that came as first-year students last year.

“Given the economy and given all the hype around the economy, I think students applied to more schools,” she said. “I think schools generally saw an increase in applications. I think students were shopping more for schools knowing at the end of the day financial aid and cost was a deciding factor, so they wanted as many options as they possibly could have.”

While the first-year student numbers are on target, Wells is seeing some previously-enrolled students opting not to return this year. Right now, Sloan is expecting an estimated enrollment of 550, down from 570 the year before. Though students still have time to make a decision, she places the blame on the decrease squarely in the hands of the recession.

“I think the economy may have taken a toll on some our students,” she said. “The sense was that the cost this year for higher education was going to be unmanageable. I think it was an expense some families were weary about in some cases.”

Wells was also not immune from this fiscal crisis. After keeping tuition costs flat for the past several years, Wells officials saw the financial need to increase the cost of education in order to keep the institution solvent.

For first-year students, the cost of tuition increased to $28,000 from $18,000, which brings the total annual cost of Wells with room and board to about $38,000. The tuition boost will not affect students in other classes. Sloan maintains the increase places the college in line with other private institutions in the northeast, and continues to be cheaper than most.

According to the College Board, the national average of the cost of a private, four-year university in 2008-09 was $25,143, up 5.9 percent from the year before. Information for the 2009-10 academic year is not yet available.

Over the next several months, Wells officials will look at why there was a decrease in enrollment and find ways to fortify existing systems, whether it be financial aid or academic offerings, to ensure enrollment grows as it has in years past.

As Wells examines its own systems, Larson said CCC officials will also be analyzing what caused its enrollment to spike. While he suspects many of those students are people that were attending private schools and transferred out due to cost, he has no real data to support that assumption. So, officials will be peering into applications to find out where these students came from and why they decided to turn to CCC for their education.

“These numbers don't just appear out of nowhere,” he said.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net