Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Enrollment grows fifth straight term

Photos and story by James Hill

For the fifth straight term, Portland Community College has grown in total headcount and full-time equivalent students, according to fall term enrollment figures.

Overall, the college grew by 4.6 percent in total headcount and 9.5 percent in full-time equivalent (FTE) students after the end of the fourth week; the standard week for reporting enrollment figures. The total number of students taking classes increased to 37,631 this term, a surge by more than 1,540 students. FTE went up to 7,686, which is more than 668 FTE from a year ago.

The enrollment figures reflect the number of students taking classes for that specific term. These numbers cannot be added to other terms’ totals to get an overall enrollment as many students who are enrolled throughout the year would be counted more than once. FTE is the total number of full- and part-time students added up to calculate full-time students.

“Ever since the economy took a turn for the worse, our enrollment has grown term after term,” said PCC President Preston Pulliams. “Clearly, we are the spark to the region’s economic engine, driving education, worker retraining, and short-term certification. When people lose their jobs, need new skills, or get that critical degree to get into the workforce, they turn to PCC.”

The most dramatic example of the college’s growth is occurring at its Southeast Portland location. Core enrollment at the Southeast Center (2305 S.E. 82nd and Division) increased by more than 20 percent fall term.

Each of the three comprehensive campuses offers complete paths to an associate’s degree at their respective locations. Here is how they fared:

Rock Creek Campus, 17705 N.W. Springville Road

This campus in Washington County, known for diesel service repair, welding, landscape technology and biology programs, experienced an increase of 11.5 percent in total FTE and 11.5 percent in total headcount.

Cascade Campus (705 N. Killingsworth St.)

The campus, located in inner Northeast Portland, is home to the trades and industry, education, first responder, fire science and business administration programs. It swelled by 10.2 percent in FTE and 11.1 percent in overall headcount.

Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49th Ave.

The southwest Portland campus – the largest in PCC’s 1,500-square-mile district and housing such programs as machine manufacturing technology, early childhood education, sign language interpreter and automotive technology – experienced a 4.9 percent increase in student enrollment and 4.6 percent in FTE.