Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Summer Term Enrollment Growth Jumps to Double Digits

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College opened its summer term on Monday, June 25, with 13.8 percent growth in its full-time equivalent (FTE) student numbers. FTE is the combination of full- and part-time students added to make one full-time student. The increase in headcount (individual students) is 11.6 percent, bringing almost 2,000 more students to the college this summer than in 2000. On the first day of summer school, 18,395 students have enrolled in classes. The increase can largely be traced to lower-division college transfer courses, a 13.2 percent hike in FTE from the first day of classes last summer term. Professional and technical training programs have also experienced a hefty increase, up 11.9 percent in FTE from last year. The increases can be attributed to a variety of factors, according to Susan Bach, director of PCC’s Institutional Research department – the growth in the metropolitan area, the need for education and training due to the dip in the economy, the affordability of the community college. Plus, the increased offerings of compressed courses this summer allows students to take a year’s course work in one subject in the summer, from languages to economics, mathematics and more. Another force that may translate to more students, particularly college-transfer students, is the recent dual enrollment programs that give students the opportunity to be enrolled both at PCC and at PSU, OSU or OIT. The new program allows access to both schools with one application. "It seems like OSU-Portland some days,"said Dennis Bailey, PCC admissions coordinator at the Sylvania Campus. "There are so many OSU kids who have called and said they want to take a class.""Generally, students like the idea (of dual enrollment),"Bailey added. "It’s much more convenient and we’re seeing a surge in interest from the high school graduates, too. They don’t have to worry about transcript fees, dual application fees each and every time they take a class at the university or at the community college."Bailey-Fourgnier also noted a general feeling among university students who are returning for summer courses at PCC. "It seems that students are trying to pack more in their university degree,"he said. "I hear ?I need to take a class, I need to catch up,’ a lot. Many come to PCC to take a class so they are free for more courses to pack into their degree at the university."By campus, enrollment for day one of summer term is:Sylvania Campus in southwest Portland shows a 10.8 percent increase in FTE enrollment and an 8.8 percent hike in headcount with 6,179 students taking classes. Cascade Campus in north Portland experienced a hefty 12.5 percent growth in FTE enrollment; headcount is up 7.3 percent with 2,995 students taking classes this summer. At Rock Creek Campus between Beaverton and Hillsboro in Washington County, the growth in FTE is up an astounding 31 percent. Headcount has jumped even higher – up 41.7 percent. This summer, 2,581 enrolled in classes. The Open Campus, which provides short-term, non-credit and customized training throughout the PCC district, including adult basic education, English as a second language and GED classes, has also seen strong growth. The FTE has risen 11 percent from last summer and headcount is up 9.2 percent. As the legislative session draws to a close, the state’s 17 community colleges hope that the Legislature will provide an infusion of $45 million in enrollment growth funds to deal with the surge in students in the past two years. The bill was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on June 21 and is now headed to the floor of the House and Senate.