Full-time enrollment is up 6.9 percent at Linn-Benton Community College at the end of the fourth week of classes for the fall 2001 term.
That percentage means 2,754 students are enrolled full-time at LBCC, up from 2,579 students as of the fourth week last year, and 2,483 as of the fourth week in fall 1999.
New applications were also up for the term. More than 2,760 people applied to attend LBCC this fall. That is an increase of 11.5 percent from last year.
“We continue to set new records of applications received and students admitted,” said Bruce Clemetsen, director of enrollment management. The end of the fourth week is significant for enrollment figures, because the numbers at that time are submitted to the state to provide data used for statewide reimbursement.
College Now, a program designed for high school students to earn college credit, has also seen steady increases in enrollment.
Rich Horton, LBCC’s College Now advisor, recently published a report showing an increase in 223 students, up from 656 in 1999-2000 to 879 in 2000-01. Students enrolled in College Now earned 5,809 credits of college-level work.
Twenty-five area high schools participated in College Now during 2000-01. Each division of LBCC offers College Now courses, and 15 LBCC faculty members coordinate the courses with high school faculty at participating schools. High school instructors who offer College Now courses must have enough graduate hours in their fields to qualify to teach college-level courses.
“The teachers like to participate because it gives them an opportunity to introduce more rigor and relevance to their classrooms,” Horton says. “Over time the program has continually expanded to provide more opportunities for students.”