Numbers before 1992 were determined by class section number range; from 1992 on, evening WSCH has been counted for all classes beginning at 4PM or later during the week, and for all weekend classes.

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Since the majority of students are part-time, Weekly Student Contact Hours (WSCH) is the fullest true measure of student enrollment activity. It is also the basis for calculating FTES. District WSCH was at its peak in Fall 1975, when it rose to almost 1,500,000. It than fell its lowest point since 1968 when it dropped to just under 900,000 in the Fall 1985. It rebounded somewhat to 1991 before beginning to fall again. Over this period, evening program enrollment has remained relatively constant while day WSCH has suffered more decline; thus evening WSCH has increased as per cent of the total. The disproportionate drop in the number of younger students, shown above in Table 6, probably caused this pattern. In 1997 those under 20, who are more likely to be full-time day students, were little more than half their 1972 level. Older students, who are more likely to attend in the evening, have continued to be enrolled in more consistent numbers. It should be noted that before 1992 day and evening WSCH were delineated by section number range; from 1992, they have been determined by the meeting time of the primary session. Evening WSCH would this include that produced by all classes starting at 4PM or later, and in all Saturday and Sunday classes. Before 1992, this time distinction was not as systematically employed in the designation of section numbers. As a result, the amount and proportion of Evening WSCH may have been slightly overestimated.