News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Nov. 6, 2008
Contact: Janelle Runyon; 360-704-4310 jrunyon@sbctc.edu
Record enrollments at Washington’s community and technical colleges
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Students are flocking to the state’s 34 community and technical colleges (CTCs), spurring the highest enrollment growth the two-year system has seen in decades. All students combined, the system is serving more than 133,000 full-time equivalents, up from 125,000 last fall.
“We haven’t seen enrollment growth like this since the 1970s,” said Loretta Seppanen, research and analysis director, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC). “And the growth is in all areas—recent high school graduates, transfer students, worker retraining, basic skills, professional technical, working adults—it really speaks to the diversity of CTCs.”
Much of the growth has been attributed to the troubled economy.
Historically, during economic downturns, college enrollments go up as students turn to community and technical colleges for training and retraining to compete for limited job openings. The system is hoping the Legislature will find ways to fund CTCs so they can keep serving more students.
“The door is open and now is not the time to shut it,” said Charlie Earl, SBCTC executive director. “Students need good jobs and bright futures and employers need skilled employees. Our colleges will turn out highly trained workers as we battle our way through this recession. We have found innovative, effective ways to serve students, including expanding online course offerings and increasing classes on evenings and weekends to alleviate crowding. But they won’t be able to keep this up without funding.”
History also shows that when base funding for CTCs is reduced, the Legislature often turns to large tuition increases to help offset the colleges’ funding gap.
“In our current economy, earning a degree or certificate is becoming both more necessary and less affordable,” said Erin Mundinger, SBCTC board chair. “During difficult economic times, we strive to strike a balance between keeping college affordable and maintaining quality programs for our students.”