TVCC enrollment climbs
Popularity of local college grows
By LARRY MEYER
ARGUS OBSERVER
Thursday, September 25, 2008 2:15 PM PDT
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| The fountain project in front of the Treasure Valley Community College Student Services Center is taking shape. The student center has been busy as more students have come to campus. |
ONTARIO — The main theme at Treasure Valley Community College is enrollment is up for fall quarter — at the Ontario campus, the Caldwell Center and even in long distance classes.
That boost in student numbers proved to be a key topic during Tuesday’s board of director’s meeting as each college official made their report to the board.
“It has been difficult just to find enough classes,” Dr. Jim Sorensen, TVCC president, said. “Students are everywhere.”
College officials have added additional sections to accommodate the growing demand.
“We definitely have got more tuition,” Sorensen said, commenting on the fiscal side. “State funding should be up.”
He pointed out, however, there is always the fear of budget cuts.
“There is no opening in distance learning classes,” Susan Tinker, dean of instruction said. “We have waiting lists.”
The economy and gas prices may be playing a critical role in the student numbers boost, Sorensen said.
Students are enrolled from as far away as Burns, Lakeview and even farther. Officials at an Oregon Youth Authority facility in Burns promote college to the inmates, and there are eight of them taking Introduction to Sociology, two are in several other classes and one student is taking a full-load and has a scholarship, Tinker said.
On campus, Tinker said, welding has wall-to-wall students, and the college is in the process of bringing in an aide to help the instructor, and reading classes were filled, but qualified teachers were not available to add classes. In his report, Eric Ellis, dean of services, said, as of Sept. 17, 2,304 students were enrolled at TVCC, compared with 2,064 in 2007 and 1,973 in 2006. Out of this year’s figures, 1,312 students are at the Ontario campus only, 439 are attending the Caldwell Center only and 271 students attend classes at both campuses.
Of special interest is the increase in the number of returning sophomores, Ellis said, since retention has been a major focus of the college for several years.
The number of returning sophomores topped 500 at the Ontario campus, with 542.
“We’ve got more sophomores than we have ever had,” Sorensen said.
Ellis also noted the increase in the number of full-time students is playing a major part in the overall enrollment upswing. Getting ready for the start of the fall quarter has been frenetic, he said.
“The entire staff of the Students Services Center has been running flat-out to keep up with the demand,” he said.
