If things look busy around Ogeechee Technical College, it’s for good reason: the school is seeing the largest summer quarter enrollment in its history as classes began Tuesday.
OTC President Dawn Cartee said an enrollment management plan with a comprehensive approach to student recruitment and retention, in addition to a variety of programs available, have attributed to the sizable increase in students enrolled for the summer.
Monday afternoon, there were 1,831 students registered for summer quarter — a 40 percent increase over the summer of 2008, said Dr. Charlene Lamar, OTC's Vice-President for Student Affairs.
"This is the third consecutive quarter that we have seen a double digit increase from the same quarter a year ago," she said. "We know that the number will fluctuate with some students dropping classes and others registering late, so it may be another couple of weeks before we have a final count, but the trend is encouraging."
Typically, summer quarter has the smallest enrollment at
Ogeechee Technical College, as well as most colleges, Cartee said.
"With such a strong summer enrollment, we expect an even bigger increase for Fall quarter... than we had last year," she said. "The budget challenges that we are facing now are eased somewhat by having such strong enrollment numbers. With formula funding we enjoy an increase in our tuition dollars when we have more students."
Last fall, over 2,200 students enrolled at OTC.
Cartee attributes the solid increases in students to several factors. "We began an enrollment management plan at the start of 2007, and this comprehensive approach to student recruitment and retention has begun to make an impact on our numbers," she said. "In addition, it is not unusual for colleges and universities to see increased enrollment when the economy is most challenging, so that issue has likely made an impact, too."
The variety of programs available at Ogeechee tech are also a reason more students are choosing this college, she said.
"We have so many great programs here at Ogeechee Tech, some as traditional as accounting and welding, and some of our newer and more unique programs, like Fire Science and Radiology Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)," she said. " It is easy for nearly anyone to find something of interest."
Other recent additions to OTC's program offerings are the Basic Law Enforcement Academy, which now offers day and evening classes, and evening Cosmetology classes which helped boost that program's number of students, she said.
Medical programs still account for the single largest group of students at the college. "We are dedicated to meeting the work force development needs of our region, and we constantly strive to offer new and better options for students," she said.
OTC President Dawn Cartee said an enrollment management plan with a comprehensive approach to student recruitment and retention, in addition to a variety of programs available, have attributed to the sizable increase in students enrolled for the summer.
Monday afternoon, there were 1,831 students registered for summer quarter — a 40 percent increase over the summer of 2008, said Dr. Charlene Lamar, OTC's Vice-President for Student Affairs.
"This is the third consecutive quarter that we have seen a double digit increase from the same quarter a year ago," she said. "We know that the number will fluctuate with some students dropping classes and others registering late, so it may be another couple of weeks before we have a final count, but the trend is encouraging."
Typically, summer quarter has the smallest enrollment at
Ogeechee Technical College, as well as most colleges, Cartee said.
"With such a strong summer enrollment, we expect an even bigger increase for Fall quarter... than we had last year," she said. "The budget challenges that we are facing now are eased somewhat by having such strong enrollment numbers. With formula funding we enjoy an increase in our tuition dollars when we have more students."
Last fall, over 2,200 students enrolled at OTC.
Cartee attributes the solid increases in students to several factors. "We began an enrollment management plan at the start of 2007, and this comprehensive approach to student recruitment and retention has begun to make an impact on our numbers," she said. "In addition, it is not unusual for colleges and universities to see increased enrollment when the economy is most challenging, so that issue has likely made an impact, too."
The variety of programs available at Ogeechee tech are also a reason more students are choosing this college, she said.
"We have so many great programs here at Ogeechee Tech, some as traditional as accounting and welding, and some of our newer and more unique programs, like Fire Science and Radiology Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)," she said. " It is easy for nearly anyone to find something of interest."
Other recent additions to OTC's program offerings are the Basic Law Enforcement Academy, which now offers day and evening classes, and evening Cosmetology classes which helped boost that program's number of students, she said.
Medical programs still account for the single largest group of students at the college. "We are dedicated to meeting the work force development needs of our region, and we constantly strive to offer new and better options for students," she said.