WITC, LSC see record enrollment

Local technical colleges opened their doors to a record flood of students Monday.

For the second year in a row, WITC-Superior had a significant increase in the student body on campus. WITC ended fiscal year 2010 with 3,148 Full Time Equivalent students (FTE), a 7 percent increase from 2009 and a college record. FTE is a formula based on the number of students in a class and the hours of the class where roughly 30 credits equals one FTE

Across the bridge in Duluth, Lake Superior College set an all-time enrollment record Monday. College officials expected to achieve at least a one percent increase in students enrolled this fall, an improvement over last year’s record enrollment. College officials expect more than 4,500 students enrolled with an FTE enrollment of more than 3,100. Approximately 1,100 of the students are new enrollees, taking their first classes at LSC.

At WITC-Superior, the largest increase is in two-year associate degree and technical diploma offerings where FTE increased by more than 165, or 8 percent, above last year. One-year technical diploma FTE also contributed substantially with nearly 30 more FTE compared to 2009.

Currently, WITC-Superior has a waiting list in a number of programs, including associate degree nursing, occupational therapy assistant, business management, barber/cosmetologist, industrial maintenance, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning/Refrigeration) and auto maintenance.

This boom in enrollment is a trend technical colleges throughout the state are seeing as unemployed workers who need retraining and students looking for affordable alternatives to four-year universities are turning to technical colleges.

The increase in online and flexible course delivery options is another attribute that is motivating people to enroll in technical colleges. These options give students the opportunity to expand their skill set while accommodating their work schedules.

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