WOODLAND HILLS : Pierce Extends Registration 1 Week

Pierce College has extended its registration period one more week to make up for sagging enrollment blamed on the recent storm, college officials said.

The downturn in enrollment could not have come at a worse time for the school, which has been struggling to reverse declining enrollments over the past few years.

Students can now register until Friday, said Mary Lee, president of the college, even though classes started Jan. 17.

School records show that registration dropped significantly this month over the same period last year, Lee said. On Jan. 10 of this year, the day of the worst flooding, 406 people registered, compared with 614 in 1994, she said.

Historically, the school has accepted late registrations about two weeks after the cutoff date, she said. But in the past, students had to get permission from class instructors to enroll, said Lee.

The school has been working to reverse declining enrollment--now about 15,100, the lowest point since 1969, according to school officials.

“The downward trend has stopped, but we still have not been able to pull it into a positive trend,” Lee said.

As part of the school’s efforts, officials have tried to streamline the enrollment process to make it easier, Lee said.