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NATCHEZ — The Copiah-Lincoln Board of Trustees voted to suspend the Culinary Arts Technology Program on the Natchez campus beginning fall 2021, school officials said.

The decision to close the program closure is due to low enrollment and low completion rates over the past five years, school officials said in a news release.

“Co-Lin’s Career-Technical Education Division directly serves the business and industry in our local area through responding to industry demand,” the release states. “Unfortunately, the interest and demand for the Culinary Arts Technology Program is not where it needs to be in order to be sustainable and considered a viable program at this time.”

Copiah-Lincoln Community College President Jane Hulon Sims said as the educational needs and career paths in the community evolve, so must the school.

“Community needs are constantly evolving, and the college must be responsive in offering career-technical programs to meet those needs,” Sims said. “Because Natchez has a great focus on hospitality and tourism, it is likely the college will see a need for this type of program in the future. Should that happen, Co-Lin will reevaluate the suspension of the Natchez Campus Culinary Arts Technology Program.”