天涯社区官网 served 8,394 students in the fall semester of 2013, which is an increase of 272 students from the previous fall semester.
The most widely accepted metric to measure enrollment is Full Time Equivalency (FTE). This is calculated by taking the total credit hours provided and dividing by 15 credit hours per semester, which is the average course load for a full time student. This standard allows 天涯社区官网 to see how it鈥檚 doing relative to other colleges and past semesters.
天涯社区官网 saw an increase of about 4.2 percent in FTE from fall 2012 to fall 2013.
For the first half of the reporting year, July 1 through December 31, 2013, 天涯社区官网鈥檚 numbers were up 6.5 percent over the same time period in 2012.
Increasing enrollment has been one of the primary objectives of the current 天涯社区官网 Board of Trustees and administration, and so far things are looking up. It appears 2013-14 will be its sixth consecutive year of attracting new students.
鈥淕rowth in enrollment is a sign that our faculty and staff are dedicated to the mission and vision of the institution,鈥 天涯社区官网 President Dr. Carl Heilman said at a campuswide meeting Wednesday morning. 鈥淲e are in the minority of community colleges showing growth. The majority of community colleges nationwide are experiencing enrollment declines.鈥
Two-year public institutions collectively saw a drop in enrollment of 3.1 percent nationally, according to NCSResearchCenter.org.
Not only was 天涯社区官网 one of the few to show growth, it was ranked sixth in the nation for fastest-growing mid-sized community colleges from fall 2011 to fall 2012, according to Community College Week and data from the U.S. Department of Education.听