As enrollment goes up in colleges across the country, educators face the challenge of sustaining that growth with an uncertain financial future.

In Kentucky, demand for higher education has increased at all levels, said Sue Patrick, communications director for the Council on Postsecondary Education.

Enrollment increased about 6 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009 across Kentucky’s public institutions, which includes community colleges, undergraduate and graduate schools, Patrick said.

When the number of students increases, the amount of state funds per student declines, Patrick said.

Nationwide, college enrollment increased by 3.4 percent from 2008 to 2009, according to an Inside Higher Ed article.

During that time, state money for higher education fell by $2.8 billion, although $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money has been used by many states to allow colleges to keep financial losses at bay, according to the article.

Kentucky is using $70 million in federal stimulus money for higher education, and Western’s share of that is $5.4 million.

That money will run out by June 30, 2011, and unless the General Assembly finds a way to replace it, Western will face a budget cut of $5.4 million.

Economic recessions often lead to more students attending college, said John Hayek, vice president for Finance, Planning and Performance for the CPE.

He said increased enrollment puts a greater financial pressure on schools to absorb more students, because more space and faculty are needed.

Colleges are having to find different ways to do business with this new fiscal reality, Hayek said. They must contain costs while maintaining quality education.

“Our institutions fight very hard to keep college affordable,” Hayek said.

He said financial pressures are also getting worse for students, many of whom now have greater debts and fewer resources.

Ann Mead, vice president for Finance and Administration, said in an e-mail that most times when colleges go through a budget reduction, they have been able to soften the impact on academic programs by raising tuition.

This year, Western had a 4 percent tuition increase, Mead said. In the two previous years, tuition increases have been about 8 percent, she said.

President Gary Ransdell said any insights into the effect of losing stimulus funds would be speculation since the General Assembly has yet to make a decision about the budget this year.

There hasn’t been any indication that the budget situation is dire enough to stop enrollment growth, Ransdell said.

However, if the budget situation becomes very serious, growth may begin to undermine academic quality, he said.

“We will only grow if we can sustain quality,” he said.

With a family at home and her own law practice, Bowling Green resident Jennifer Brinkley decided to get her master’s degree in criminology online. “It is the best way to get this degree,” Brinkley said. After graduating from Western as a broadcasting major, Brinkley went to the University of Kentucky for law school and has operated her own law office for the last 2 and 1/2 years. BRIAN POWERS/HERALD

After Jennifer Brinkley completed law school at the University of Kentucky, she felt like something was missing.

Brinkley, who graduated from Western in 2001 with a degree in broadcast journalism, now works full time in Bowling Green as an attorney with her own practice, and she’ll start a new job later this month as a prosecutor for the Warren County Attorney’s Office.

She decided to pursue a master’s degree in criminology, a new graduate program that is offered completely online at Western.

Brinkley said it would be impossible for someone like her to be a traditional student.

“Obviously, I can’t go to class,” she said. “The online criminology program was a perfect choice because I can access it 24 hours a day.”

Brinkley isn’t alone.

When the first online courses were offered in the spring of 1998, only three were available, said Cindy Troutman, distance learning coordinator, in an e-mail. In the 2008-2009 school year, there were 1,068 online courses offered.

The biggest growth in online programs has been within graduate programs, Troutman said.

The master’s in criminology degree, new this fall, is offered through the sociology department with support from the Division of Extended Learning and Outreach.

Assistant sociology professor Jerry Daday said there’s a big learning curve in transitioning from the classroom to an online setting.

Daday is the graduate adviser for the criminology program and teaches several classes online. He said he sometimes misses the face-to-face interaction of the classroom environment.

It’s a common misconception that online classes mean less work for the instructor, Daday said.

“I haven’t seen it yet,” he said.

Online degree programs only work if the whole degree can be completed over the Internet — not just a class or two, he said.

“From day one, we marketed it to the university and to the community at large as an all-online program,” Daday said.

Non-traditional students who work full time are generally more mature and self-directed than typical students, said Jim Berger, associate professor in education administration, leadership and research.

Berger is the program director for the master’s degree in adult education.

“I teach adults how to teach adults,” he said.

Even though the degree is offered completely online, Berger said he tries to make the classes as hands-on as possible.

He said he tries to avoid a lot of notes and lectures, focusing instead on field work.

“For me, it’s about the experience,” he said.

Brinkley, who is taking two online classes right now, said she hopes to complete her degree in the next year and a half.

She said her family has been supportive of her decision to go back to school, even though it cuts into the time they spend together.

Online programs are ideal for people with families, Brinkley said.

“You can’t tell your 5-year-old, ‘I’ve got to go to class, you’re going to have to make it on your own tonight,’” she said.

The Hill is home to more students this semester than ever before, with the total fall enrollment expected to exceed 20,000 students.

Western continues to grow faster than any other university in the state, thanks to an increase of the number of new students and retention of existing students, Provost Barbara Burch said.

In comparison to this time last year, enrollment is up more than 1,200 students, with an increase of more than 950 undergraduate students and 300 graduate students, said Dean Kahler, associate vice president for enrollment.

Final enrollment for fall 2008 was 19,761 students, he said.

Intentional planning triggered the growth in enrollment, said Richard Bowker, vice president for research and dean of graduate studies.

“Student engagement is pervasive across the university,” he said. “The quality of experience in every department is increasing.”

Officials continue making changes throughout campus to accommodate the increasing student population.

Housing and Residence Life relaxed policies this semester after more students applied for campus housing than in previous years, HRL Director Brian Kuster said. The relaxed policies allowed some senior, junior and sophomore students in good academic standing to opt out of their housing contracts, opening up more beds for incoming freshmen.

“It will be tight this year, but that’s a good problem to have,” Kuster said.

Officials continue discussing plans for future campus housing, he said.

As for non-housing expansion, officials will continue constructing, renovating and expanding several buildings on campus this year.

The prospect of increased enrollment spurred several projects, including Snell Hall, an expansion of the Preston Center and additions to both Houchens-Smith Stadium and campus dining venues, said Bryan Russell, director of Planning, Design and Construction.

Parking and Transportation expanded the Adams Street, Pearce-Ford and Normal lots, adding more than 250 parking spots, Parking Services Director Jennifer Tougas said.

The department is installing more bike racks throughout campus and plans to create more bike paths in addition to offering students discounted fares for the Go BG transit bus.

“A lot of the preparation we’re doing for student growth is finding alternative transportation,” Tougas said. “We are running out of parking real estate.”

Officials will release preliminary enrollment numbers for all public universities in Kentucky on Sept. 28.