Monroe Community College plans faculty layoffs amid declining enrollment

Monroe Community College this week announced it soon will lay off some faculty members in response to declining enrollment.

The layoffs will not take effect for at least a year, and the college said it will work with the MCC Faculty Association to limit the impact on both students and affected employees. MCC already has gone through two phases of cost-savings measures, it said, first an administrative reorganization and then an offer for voluntary retirements.

"Reductions are being discussed that will ensure the continuity of the learning experience of our students and are also in line with our fiscal reality," the school said in a statement.

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MCC reported an undergraduate enrollment of about 8,500 students in Fall 2023, down from 11,600 in Fall 2019, the last semester before COVID-19. A decade ago it was 16,500 students.

The trend is similar at community colleges across the country as low unemployment has kept more people in the workforce and out of associate's degree programs, among other factors.

The MCC Faculty Association said in a statement that it believes the needed cost savings can be found without layoffs.

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"We are committed to continuing these discussions in good faith and believe that we will come to an agreement on alternative solutions to addressing the budgetary concerns," the statement read. "Faculty layoffs should be the last resort for any academic institution."

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Monroe Community College plans faculty layoffs amid declining enrollment