Enrollment continues to grow in District
by Shannon Harrison, managing editor

     Enrollment figures at the end of registration have increased for three TCC Campuses.

     SE Campus recorded 7,195 students and had the largest increase with 536 more students than the end of late registration last year. NW Campus was next with 4,255, an increase of 309 more students than last year.

     NE Campus was third with 8,914, an improvement of 274 students, while South Campus decreased to 6,725, compared to 6,847 last year.

     “Things look good,” Dr. Bill Lace, executive assistant to the chancellor, said. “District wide we are up 876 students, which is a 3.5 percent increase from last year. All the schools are up in enrollment except for South, and they are only down by 122 students,” he said.

     Dr. Michael Saenz, NW Campus president, believes that enrollment on his campus has improved because of the construction of more houses and businesses on the NW side of Tarrant County.

     “We are very proud of this year’s enrollment. We thought that we might come up a couple hundred, but it turned out to be more. Percentage wise, we came up 7.8 percent (over last spring), which is excellent.

     “We’ve been waiting for years for NW Campus to become more active, and now that it is, we feel very proud that we can provide a place for students to continue their education,” he said.

     Dr. Judith Carrier, SE president, is pleased with the figures for the spring semester.

     “First and foremost, the entire district enrollment is up, and this is excellent,” she said. “We are so pleased to be a part of this. Last year we had a bumper crop, and now we are up. We are thrilled that the enrollment is solid; there are many new students, and we are glad to have them.”

     Dr. Larry Darlage, NE Campus president, contributes some of the growth to campus innovations.

     “It (the increase) is great; we do a considerable amount of recruiting and marketing for the schools, which I believe to have some impact, but it is difficult to determine what the impact really is,” he said. “It shows TCC provides instructional needs for the student, indicating we provide excellent programs needed by the community. Hopefully, we can satisfy some of the employment need as the students complete their classes.”

     On South Campus, Dr. Ernest Thomas, president, said, “We are pleased that when you look at the figures that our full time equivalency is up. Our students are taking more courses which means higher retention rates for them.”

     The official date of record for the spring semester is Monday, Jan. 29. Actual enrollment on that 12th class day helps determine the district’s funding during count years.