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NWCC Enrollment Surges 22 Percent Over Two Years

August 25, 2010

Senatobia .— Enrollment at Northwest Mississippi Community College has grown 22 percent in the past two years, according to school officials.

With 3,711 students, DeSoto Center in Southaven recorded the greatest number of students, followed by 3,497 at the main campus in Senatobia and 1,548 at the Lafayette-Yalobusha Technical Center in Oxford. Northwest’s total enrollment stands 8,756 after the last day of late registration. 

Embracing this two-year, 22 percent enrollment surge, administrators and faculty are prepared to meet the changing educational needs of this year’s increase of 392 students..

“In response to these increases, we added nine new faculty positions this fall and replaced all instructors who retired,” said Dr. Chuck Strong, vice-president of Educational Affairs. “In addition to adding new faculty, we have increased classroom space on all campuses. Students can still expect a quality education at Northwest and individual attention from instructors.”

Recent studies indicate the current recession is a major influence on students’ decisions to seek affordable enrollment at community colleges. Students are seeking a college degree, career certificate or fresh job training—elements vital for those needing a new career or who are working to retain a job by enhancing a current skill set. 

The Career-Technical curriculum and Workforce Development programs at Northwest cater to those needs, according to associate vice-president and dean of Career-Technical studies, Jerry Nichols.

“We are especially excited about our increased enrollment in Career-Technical classes,” said Nichols. “Both traditional students and older workers are seeing the tremendous advantages of training for new jobs and technical enhancement in this changing industrial, medical and agricultural landscape, and our classrooms are preparing them for the changes in those fields.”

The Practical Nursing program on the Senatobia campus has seen a significant rise in applications.  More than 200 applicants were considered for the 30 available spots.

“We have seen a steady rise in enrollment into the program over the past few years as more students are going back to school to learn a practical skill in this economic downturn,” said Pamela White, RN and lead instructor.

As manufacturers, industries and suppliers like Toyota, Twin Creeks Technologies, GE Aviation, Toyoda Gosei and PK U.S.A., continue to develop locations in and around the college’s 11-county district, Northwest’s Workforce Development programs will provide specialized training for their needs, according to David Bledsoe, director of Workforce Development.

“Northwest is experiencing an increase in advanced technology-based training and manufacturing skills training in anticipation of these and other job opportunities in northwest Mississippi,” said Bledsoe.

Because enrollment continues to grow, the college’s Board of Trustees authorized the continuation of the college capital building campaign. Approved at the August meeting, final plans for the second phase are now taking shape while finishing touches are in place for the first phase of campus-wide construction and renovation. 

The new, state-of-the-art nursing facility will open its doors in October; new tennis, volleyball and outdoor basketball courts will also be ready for use in October; renovation of the McLendon Student Union — the largest renovation project in the college’s history — will begin in December; and plans are underway in designing a career-technical building to house tool and die technology and heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration technology.