Fall Enrollment is Up!
Sep 27, 2017Fall Enrollment is Up at RCC
After several years of declining enrollment, RCC’s enrollment for Fall semester is up 9%.
“Our faculty and staff have worked very hard to make this happen,” said RCC President Dr. Mark Kinlaw. “We have had an all-hands-on-deck approach to strategically make this improvement and the hard work to enroll more students doesn’t stop today. We must make it a priority to meet the educational needs of the county and the workforce community. Planning for Spring semester recruitment is heavily underway.”
RCC is offering more online classes than ever before. This fall the college offered courses that will allow a student to complete the Associate in Arts degree almost entirely online. Plans are in place to offer the Associate in Applied Science in Criminal Justice online next year along with many other general education requirement courses. General education courses being offered online at this time include the following disciplines: math, English, humanities, and criminal justice.
During the summer, the college placed a heavy emphasis on marketing to prospective students and their families. Radio and direct mail advertising along with an increase in social media presence were part of the effort to improve enrollment.
RCC faculty worked cooperatively with the staff in Enrollment Services to provide a “high touch” academic advising experience to prospective students preparing for fall semester.
“Even though we live in a digital world, we should never underestimate the value and importance of simply sitting with a student to discuss pathways to meet their academic goals,” said Sheila Regan, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “I am very proud of our faculty for their collaborative spirit and positive attitude to try something different.”
Developing new and innovative programs of study helps the college to attract students and encourages our graduates to continue to advance their education. During the registration period, 18 students enrolled in a new hybrid program of study LPN (licensed practical nurse) to ADN (Associate Degree Nursing). Many former practical nursing graduates requested that the college consider offering this program of study as the next stepping stone for their career.
The college opened its newly renovated Simulated Hospital located in the Owens Health Science Building and recently completed major renovation in the Advanced Technology Building and in the James Library.
“We know our students pay attention to the atmosphere and condition of our facilities,” said Kinlaw. “More renovations are planned for the Whitcomb Student Center and Industrial Technologies Buildings. Offering new programs of study, course delivery methods outside of the traditional classroom and keeping our facilities updated is very important to our students.”
