PORT ANGELES — First-day enrollment was up at Peninsula College this year over 2008, President Tom Keegan said, who expects to see a new record in enrollment by the end of December.
The number of students taking the equivalent of a full schedule was 1,559 on Tuesday — the first day of classes for the community college — a boost of about 14 percent over last year’s approximately 1,368.
The enrollment is equal to the enrollment in 1997 — the previous all-time high, Keegan said.
“We believe we will shatter all records by the end of the year,” Keegan said.
“Right now, it isn’t a complete picture until all the shuffling around is done.”
The number of students according to head count is not yet available, Keegan said.
That number is usually higher than that of the full-time equivalents because most students take a part-time schedule.
So, for example, two students taking a half-time schedule would be calculated as one full-time equivalent.
The numbers also do not include students in the Running Start program — where high school students also attend college classes for credit — or community education classes — which are classes that do not earn credit.
The full-time equivalent, or FTE, students are only the students which are considered “state supported,” Keegan said.
The head count is not calculated until about the third week of school.
Expects 300 more
“Traditionally as the year progresses, we grow in FTEs,” Keegan said.
“We expect to grow by at least 300 more state-supported FTEs by the end of the year,” in December, he added. “By the end of the year, we expect we will be at above the 1,800 student mark.”
Every campus at the college saw an increase over 2008’s first-day numbers.
The Port Angeles campus — the largest of the three — increased 14 percent from about 1,267 full-time students to about 1,442 full-time students.
The Port Townsend campus grew about 8 percent, from about 77 students to 83 full-time students.
The Forks campus grew about 45 percent, from about 23 full-time students to 34 full-time students.
“Especially in our extension sites, the FTEs don’t give the full picture,” Keegan said.
“In Port Townsend, for example, community education is such a huge part of what goes on at that campus, but we won’t have all those numbers until later in the year.”
Keegan attributed the growth, in part, to the economy.
Economy, cuts a concern
“Obviously the economy has been a driver in all of this. When there are downturns in the economy, traditionally our enrollment goes up,” Keegan said.
“In the ’90s, we saw an increase in enrollment after the closure of a lot of the mills.
“Displaced workers come back for retraining, and in an economy like this one, we see students staying here that otherwise might have left the [North Olympic] Peninsula.”
Keegan said that, in light of a $1.5 million cut for this year from the state Legislature, the significant increase in enrollment concerned him.
“We are really happy to serve the community in this time,” Keegan said.
“The faculty have really stepped up with larger classes, and the staff is serving more students.
“There is a great ‘can do’ spirit, but I am concerned about the long-term sustainability with the budget cuts.
“Obviously, we are not sacrificing quality, but we are concerned and continue to look for alternative funding sources to see how we can continue to serve this larger group of people.”
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.