This content was published: March 29, 2000. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Winter Term Enrollment Grows by 4 Percent
Photos and story by James Hill
The largest post-secondary college in the state just got even bigger. Portland Community College’s enrollment numbers from its Institutional Research office show that the college grew by 4 percent in total headcount from winter term of 1999 to winter term 2000 and total full-time equivalent (FTE) students increased by 4.3 percent. Total headcount after the 11th week of winter term stood at 37,353 which is up by 1,433 students from winter term a year ago (35,920) while FTE’s were at 5,790.73 which is an increase of 241.21 from fall (5,549.52). FTE is calculated by adding full-time and part-time enrollments together to equal a full-time equivalent student.
PCC’s Cascade Campus experienced the biggest surge in enrollment. The Northeast Portland campus (located at 705 N. Killingsworth) increased by 20.3 percent in total students and 23 percent in FTEs. In winter of 1999, Cascade had 4,148 students, but that number skyrocketed to 4,992 for winter term this year. The Rock Creek Campus (located at 17705 N.W. Springville Road) had 263 more students enroll this year for winter term to swell to 5,275 total students, a change of 5.2 percent. The FTE count expanded by 1.1 percent at Rock Creek with a total of 953.44, almost 10 FTEs more than last year (943.49).
"One again, we have exceeded our enrollment predictions, further underlining our goals to be an affordable and accessible option in education for the community," said PCC President Dan Moriarty. "But classroom space is at a premium, especially on the Cascade and Rock Creek campuses, and without additional funding those goals may become harder and harder to reach."
Only the Sylvania Campus (located at 12000 S.W. 49th Ave. in Portland) experienced a slight decrease in student enrollment for winter term. Total enrollment edged downward by 0.4 percent while total FTEs fell by a mere 1.1 percent. PCC’s open campus numbers changed only slightly with a total headcount increase to 19,744, almost identical to last year’s headcount of 19,741, and total FTEs inched down to 1,511.45, down by 2.6 percent. Portland Community College maintains three comprehensive campuses (Cascade, Rock Creek and Sylvania), four multi-service training centers, and offers classes at 150 locations throughout its 1,500-square-mile district.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »