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Enrollment numbers

Washington State's full-time equivalent enrollment by quarter

Academic year Fall Winter Spring

2009-10 1,619.4 1,670.8 n/a

2008-09 1,524.5 1,539 1,405

2007-08 1,579.4 1,482.5 1,390.2

2006-07 1,632 1,578.9 1,449.2

2005-06 1,645.7 1,651 1,544.8

2004-05 1,582.7 1,530.1 1,461.4

2003-04 1,551.8 1,505.2 1,403.6

As new reports name community colleges as key players nationwide in reviving economic opportunities for workers, Marietta's community college is achieving its largest full-time student enrollment in its history.

Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment at Washington State Community College is up 8.6 percent for the winter quarter to 1,670.8. Total enrollment is 2,183, with those students taking courses equivalent to nearly 1,671 full-time students.

"I definitely think the economy is directly or indirectly having an effect because it's really starting to make people think about the value of an education," said Amanda Herb, chief enrollment management officer for the college.

Herb said she has seen many students who have either lost jobs and want to re-train, are training to handle new responsibilities due to downsizing or who are worried about the economy and think it's a good time to learn new skills.

The college has been working to make classes more accessible to students, including having more online offerings and class schedules that can accommodate students who also work, she said.

"We are seeing more non-traditional students enroll," said Herb. "In fact, we saw a 5 percent increase in the number of students 25 and older (this quarter.) We also saw an increase in online courses and blended courses."

Blended courses require a student to be on campus part-time as well as complete online work.

"It really offers the best of both worlds because you get the one-on-one interaction and the convenience online," Herb said.

Enrollment in online and blended classes has jumped from 32 students in fall 2001 to 1,157 last fall, said Herb.

Also increasing is the number of returning students at the college, both from one quarter to another or for more training after completing a previous program.

"Each quarter we have a strong pool of students and then we're adding on to that," said Herb. "We've got a strong retention rate."

There has been growth in most programs, she said, especially public services, due to a second Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy beginning.

There has been a 14 percent increase in health programs, which make up about 34 percent of the college's enrollment.

"It's the 'it" field right now," said Barbara Davis, 39, of Williamstown, who was visiting the campus Friday as she considers attending. "They say there's such job opportunity right now so I'm strongly considering it. I'm looking for a career at this point in my life and not another job."

Total enrollment at Washington State is up 5.1 percent this quarter, to 2,183, which though on the rise, isn't record-breaking like the full-time equivalent.

The last time FTE, which determines the amount of instructional subsidy WSCC receives from the state, was near this level was winter quarter 2006, when there were 1,651 full-time equivalent students.

That fall there were 1,646 full-time students.

As recently as 2002 those numbers dipped down into the 1,200-level, while since that 2006 peak they've been hovering around 1,500.

The enrollment peaks seen at Washington State are visible across the country, said Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, as she spoke Saturday at a Center For American Progress conference in Washington, D.C., where three new reports were released outlining the importance of community colleges in helping train workers and getting the economy back on track.

Community colleges are "entering a new day in America," Biden said at the event, and are opening doors to workers who have had them closed during the recession.

"For more and more people, community colleges are the way to the future," she said. "They're giving real opportunity to students who otherwise wouldn't have it."