BENTONVILLE -- NorthWest Arkansas Community College's enrollment is up 62 students over last fall semester, ending a two-year streak of enrollment decline.
The college reported 8,164 students Tuesday, a 0.77 percen increase over this time last year. Tuesday was the college's 11th day of classes this semester. Eleventh-day numbers are used by the state to compare enrollment from year to year.
By The Numbers (w/logo)
Enrollment
NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s enrollment on the 11th day of classes for the past five fall semesters.
Year*Enrollment*Percent Change From Previous Fall
2010*8,461*4.4
2011*8,648*2.2
2012*8,418*-2.7
2013*8,102*-3.8
2014*8,164*0.77
Source: Staff Report
While enrollment is up, the number of credit hours being taken is down. The unofficial student semester credit hours count this semester is 73,664, a 1,223 -- or 1.6 percent --decrease of from last year.
The college built its budget for this fiscal year on the assumption student credit hours would drop 3 percent. It expected to receive $23 million in tuition and fees this fiscal year, about 56 percent of its revenue.
The enrollment increase can be attributed in part to the growth in high school students concurrently enrolled. That number was 1,019 on Tuesday, up nearly 25 percent from last year, according to college officials.
Ric Clifford, Board of Trustees chairman, said that's an important trend for the college.
"The thing that's most encouraging is the groundwork we're laying with the high schools in terms of the concurrent enrollment," Clifford said. "The more high school kids you have, the bigger pipeline potential there is."
Diana Johnson, executive director of high school relations, said several factors contributed to that increase.
"I credit our high school relations team -- Jorge Amaral, Leslie Hardaway, and Jenna Bishop -- with working diligently to build relationships with the high schools and to demonstrate to students and parents the value of getting a jumpstart on one's college education," Johnson stated in a college news release Tuesday.
The board this year approved increasing the tuition waiver for high school students in the Early College Experience program from 50 percent to 60 percent.
About 15 percent of Early College Experience students enroll at the college the fall after they graduate high school. Another 10 percent enroll at the college over the following two to three years, according to what Johnson told the board earlier this year.
The college also reported an uptick in the number of students taking at least one online course. That number increased from 2,937 in 2013 to 2,975 this fall, an increase of 1.3 percent.
Eleventh-day enrollment figures reflect students taking courses for college credit. They don't count several thousand other students served by the college through programs such as professional development, workforce training and adult education, according to Steven Hinds, executive director of public relations and marketing.
The 11th-day numbers released Tuesday are preliminary. They don't include students who may be auditing a class or who are enrolled in classes that begin after the traditional 16-week term starts. Those who audit classes pay tuition and fees, but don't take the classes for credit.
The college saw its enrollment increase every year from 1990 to 2011, but fall enrollment dropped 2.7 percent in 2012 and 3.8 percent in 2013.
The college's recent effort to trim expenses and keep tuition and fees stable is paying off, Clifford said.
"We're in a good spot right now," he said. "We're in a position where you're not having to make cuts that hurt student success or make your class sizes really big."
Cooper Baird, 24, of Springdale received an associate of science degree from the college in May, but is taking 16 hours there this semester to pick up prerequisites he'll need for a nursing program at another college. Baird attended the University of Arkansas straight out of high school, but dropped out after a couple of years.
He appreciates the smaller classes at the college compared to the university. He began with an interest in becoming a teacher and coach. After taking an anatomy and physiology course from Robert Ziegler, he decided he wanted to be a nurse anesthetist.
"I've had a great experience here," Baird said.
Meredith Koontz, 19, of Rogers is in her third semester at the college pursuing a career in early childhood education.
It was the size of classes and relatively low cost that attracted her.
"You'll have teachers who are genuinely interested in what you are doing and it's much less expensive," Koontz said.
NW News on 09/10/2014