In spring 1994, enrollment began to drop at Virginia's Thomas Nelson Community College (TNCC), after having steadily increased between 1986-87 and 1993-94. The number of annual full-time equivalent students dropped 3.5% in 1994-95 to 4,394, another 3.8% in 1995-96 to 4,226, and another 11.3% in 1996-97 to 3,745. The college sought to provide a context for the enrollment losses by comparing data for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) as a whole, state urban community colleges, and local four- and two-year colleges. Results of the analyses included the following: (1) enrollment in the VCCS as a whole declined by 6.9%, or 9,742 students, between fall 1991 and fall 1995, compared to a decline of 9.4% for TNCC; (2) for both the TNCC and the VCCS, the largest drop in enrollment was among students 20 to 34 years old; (3) although both TNCC and the VCCS experienced declines in attendance rates, or enrollment divided by population, TNCC's rates were below those of the VCCS for students of all ages; (4) while local state colleges experienced enrollment declines similar to those at TNCC during the period, they showed increases for 1996; and (5) the enrollment declines at TNCC between 1995 and 1997 were considerably higher than those at other urban community colleges in the state. Five data tables are included. (BCY)