In a pandemic year that had colleges across the nation bracing for unprecedented decreases in enrollment – Mid-Plains Community College not only weathered the storm, it also had the smallest decline in enrollment out of all community colleges in Nebraska. That’s according to Nebraska’s Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education “Estimated Fall Enrollment Report” released earlier this semester. MPCC’s 2020 fall enrollment was down less than 1% from the same time last year. “With so many unknowns, it was hard to predict what our fall enrollment would do,” said Kelly Rippen, area vice president of student affairs. “When we made the decision to deliver our courses in person, as well as offer multiple hybrid, online, zoom and distance learning options for students, we saw a boost in enrollment. Some students did make the choice to enroll in online courses, and several others who had made plans to attend elsewhere, who were not interested in the ‘online only’ format, chose to attend MPCC because of in-person availability.”