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ENROLLMENT SURGE AT NORTHEAST
Officials at Northeast Alabama Community College
are reporting another enrollment surge at the college for
the Fall Semester 2009 term. Indeed, the 3,443 students
registered at the college are the most ever recorded at the
school, representing a 22 percent increase over the fall of
2008-2009.
“Many community colleges throughout the nation
are reporting enrollment increases due to the downturn in the
economy,” stated Dr. David Campbell, NACC President. “The
enrollment at Northeast is showing this effect as well and we
are very pleased we can serve people with educational
opportunities during these hard economic times.” Campbell
clarified that the latest increases go along with the
substantial enrollment gains that have been occurring at the
college throughout the past several years. The college
experienced a seventy percent enrollment increase from 2001 to
2008 with enrollment expanding during that time from 1,714 in
the fall of the 2001-2002 academic years to this year’s record
of 3,443 students. The 2007-2008 Fall Semester alone had an
eleven percent increase over the previous year.
College officials attribute the college’s
enrollment growth to many factors, including the expansion and
addition of courses and programs, an adult education program,
greater student access to financial aid, a student loan program,
greater marketing and promotions, more community involvement
through events held on campus, improvements in campus facilities
and grounds, the expansion of workforce development
training, and dual enrollment partnerships with area high
schools. “Our faculty, staff, and administrators have done an
outstanding job the past several years in adding programs that
now people in our area can use to start new careers and
jobs,” Campbell stated.
NACC college officials state that enrollment
records for the college extend back to 1975. These records show
that up until this fall the largest single enrollment was during
the Winter Quarter of 1975 when 3,017 students were enrolled at
the school and attending the main campus and satellite locations
at high schools throughout the area. “This was when a very
large number of veterans were enrolled,” stated Mr. Larry Guffey,
NACC Dean of Administrative Services. “These figures were
somewhat atypical in that the numbers dropped substantially
after the veterans were served.” Guffey noted that there may
have been a term before 1975 when enrollment was larger than the
previous record number, but the enrollment data does not exist
for this era.
College officials also note that not only are
there more students at the college, but they are taking more
courses as well. Credit hour production at the college, in
fact, increased 25 percent from 2008-2009 to 2009-2010. College
officials state that an increase in credit hour production helps
the college financially, particularly in this period of
proration. “Our faculty and staff have worked very hard the
past few years to create a schedule that helps our students
register for the courses that they need at the best times for
them,” Dr. Joe Burke, NACC Vice President/Dean of Instruction
said. “We have added many online courses also, and these of
course help with scheduling.”
NACC officials point out that registration
numbers will fluctuate to some extent between now and the end of
the Fall Semester. Dean of Student Services Tonie Niblett
points out that more dual enrollment students and students
taking specialized courses will be added to the current numbers,
while some students’ registration will not become official for
various reasons. However, it is anticipated that the final
registration number should remain close to the current level.
For more information about Northeast, visit the
college’s Web page at www.nacc.edu
or call 638-4418 or 228-6001.
NACC students gather in the quad for a visit
between classes. These students are among the 3,443 enrolled
this fall semester, the largest enrollment on record for the
college. The college has had a 70 percent increase from 2001 to
2008, showing a continuous growth. Pictured (L-R) standing: Tonya Bibbs,
Patricia Lambert, Josh Kidd, Rachel Monroe, Amy Spangler, and
Evan King; seated: Traci Dean, Cody Padgett, Brooklyn Jones and
Kevin Graden. |
