Academic Year Report
THE REPORT
The Academic Year Report provides a snapshot of funding, facilities, staffing, and enrollments in community and technical colleges in the past academic year. It also describes key measures of student outcomes and addresses the most frequently-asked questions related to expenditures, personnel and students.
Additional demographic information regarding community and technical college students is available in the sister publication, Fall Enrollment and Staffing Report.
Highlights of 2007-08
- Washington community and technical colleges enrolled the equivalent of 169,189 full-time students (annual FTES) during academic year 2007-08. Of the total, 136,199 FTES – 80 percent – were in state-funded courses. State-funded FTES are supported by student tuition and state funding.
- Community and technical colleges served nearly half a million people - 460,696 students in 2007-08. This unduplicated headcount represents each student counted only once, even if the student enrolled for more than one quarter or at more than one college during the year.
- A total of 61,927 (45 percent) state-supported FTES were generated by students enrolled for workforce education (upgrading job skills or preparing to enter a new job field). Students who were preparing to transfer to four-year institutions accounted for 53,132 FTES (39 percent). Some 15,875 FTES (12 percent) were generated by students enrolled with an immediate goal of basic skills [Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a second language (ESL), General Education Development (GED) preparation or high school completion].
- The racial composition of the student population was significantly more diverse than that of the state as a whole. The two-year colleges served 35.9 percent people of color, while the state population was an estimated 23.8 percent people of color. Enrollment grew for all race and ethnic groups, especially for Native American and Hispanic students.
- eLearning enrollment continued its double-digit growth rate. In 2007-08, some 16,888 FTES were served via online instruction, an increase of 17 percent from 2006-07 and 74 percent of all eLearning (22,786 FTES). More than 103,570 students enrolled in eLearning classes, including 81,727 taking online courses.
- In 2007-08, 17,327 Running Start students – high school students earning high school and college credit simultaneously – accounted for 11,185 FTES. Another 2,755 high school students enrolled in college classes offered at their high school – College in the High School and 3,151 high school students enrolled in alternative high school programs offered at the colleges.
- The dynamic, economy sensitive Worker Retraining program served a growing number of students - 11,457 (6,238 FTES) in the community and technical colleges in 2007-08 and 313 in private career schools.
- Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) pairs ABE or ESL with workforce training. Some 1,768 students were enrolled for 773 FTE in programs in fields such as allied health, industrial maintenance, automotive, and early childhood education. New this year is a focus on science, technology, engineering and math transfer (STEM) with 7,200 STEM majors enrolled in 4,190 FTE. Also new this year is the offering of upper division course work at four colleges for the applied bachelor’s degrees (90 FTE).
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