Tag: Enrollment

ECC Enrollment Up for Third Consecutive Semester

October 6, 2022 | Campus News ECC Rolla

Enrollment at East Central College is up this fall, bucking the national trend of declining enrollment among public colleges and universities.

The number of credit hours taken by ECC students is 3 percent higher this semester compared to the Fall 2021 semester — students this semester are taking 26,640 credit hours, 772 more than the 25,868 credit hours taken last fall.

In addition, there are 35 more students this year, 2,692, compared to last fall when there were 2,657 students enrolled. That is a 1.3 percent increase in total students enrolled (headcount).

Increasing enrollment has been a challenge for colleges throughout the country, according to ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer.

“For the second year in a row — and going against the trend across the country — we have seen enrollment gains in both credit hours and headcount,” he said. “Everyone at East Central has a part in this work, and everyone should be thrilled with these results.”

ECC’s enrollment over the past two years has challenged the shift toward decreasing populations.

“Although the general trend nationwide is continued declines in enrollment,” Bauer added, “around Missouri, the results at community colleges are mixed.

“Some have seen gains this fall, while others are experiencing declines, while some are flat.”

ECC can attribute some of the enrollment increase to strong gains in dual credit enrollment, employee focus on retention and growth at ECC in Rolla.

Bauer noted that the college’s Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) is 1,776, up from 1,725 last fall. FTE is a calculation based on total credit hours that shows how many students would be attending college if they all were full time. This year’s FTE also is higher than in 2020 when it was 1,642.

A majority of ECC students are planning to complete their Associate of Arts degree, while others are looking to directly begin their career upon completion of their program’s certificate and/or degree.

Below is a list of the top 10 programs for the fall 2022 semester:

Associate of Arts — 1186
Nursing — 94
Education — 81
Industrial Engineering Tech — 50
Computer Information System — 49
Transfer Engineering — 48
Fine Arts — 40
Culinary Arts — 36
Radiological Technology — 29.

ECC Sees Enrollment Increase for the Fall 2021 Semester

September 21, 2021 | Campus News Inspiring Excellence

More students are enrolled at East Central College than during each of the past two fall semesters.

Enrollment is up 2.5 percent in total student headcount in the fall 2021 semester compared to the fall 2020 semester.

There are 2,657 students enrolled this fall compared to 2,593 to the 2020 fall semester, a difference of 64 students, according to data compiled by the college’s institutional research department.

ECC also saw an increase of 5 percent in the number of credit hours taken this year. In the fall 2021 students enrolled in 25,868 credit hours compared to 24,633 in the fall of 2020. That is an increase of 1,235 credit hours.

“This is great news for East Central College. The enrollment numbers reflect the quality of our academic offerings,” said ECC President Dr. Jon Bauer. “Students choose a college because of the knowledge and skills they will gain from their experience.”

The College saw increases in several areas, including dual credit, dual technical credit, first time and transfer students.

First-time degree seeking students are also up 7.3 percent this fall. There are 694 first-time degree seekers this year compared to 647 in 2020, an increase of 47 students, according to unofficial results.

“Enrollment is up because of the great work of our faculty and staff. It takes a comprehensive effort, including marketing, advising and counseling, financial assistance, teaching, scheduling, facilities, and more,” Bauer added.

“The enrollment numbers are tangible results of this work and the quality of what we provide.”

The headcount and credit hours for the 2021 fall semester are also higher in comparison to the 2019 fall semester, the last fall semester before the COVID-19 pandemic. ECC’s enrollment increase comes at a time when community college enrollment is trending down.

According to Robyn Walter, vice president of academic affairs, recruitment and retainment of students are just two of many factors that have boosted enrollment.

“We credit a myriad of efforts, to not only retain students, but to bring back those that withdrew this spring, as well as attracting new students,” she said. “ECC responded to students’ request for more in-person class options, and developed a course schedule with a variety of course delivery methods.

“We continue to offer student-centered instruction with highly qualified faculty and academic support services,” Walter added.

Top Ten Programs

Below is a list of the top 10 programs for the fall 2021 semester:

Associate of Arts: 1,248
Nursing: 88
Education: 82
Pre-Engineering: 51
Computer Information System: 51
EMT-Paramedic: 45
HVAC-R: 39
Industrial Engineering Technology: 39
Fine Arts: 36
Culinary Arts: 30

East Central College Board of Trustees Unanimously Approves New Strategic Plan

September 6, 2019 | Campus News Inspiring Excellence

East Central College’s five-year strategic plan, SOAR to 2024, was unanimously approved by the Board of Trustees at its August 26 meeting.

“I am grateful for the countless hours of work that have gone into the development of the plan,” said. Dr. Bauer. “We now turn our attention to implementation. I am excited and incredibly optimistic about what’s in store for East Central over the next five years.”

In 2018, East Central College partnered with CampusWorks to help design a strategic plan. Since that time, the company has worked closely with East Central College administration, faculty, staff, Board of Trustee members and the strategic planning committee to ensure that all stakeholders had a voice in the process.

“This plan is a big step forward for the college’s future,” said Ann Hartley, East Central College Board of Trustees president, “I am so proud of what has been accomplished in a relatively short amount of time.. The Board of Trustees is so appreciative of the involvement from our students, faculty and staff who helped make this possible.”

In January 2019, ECC hosted a region-wide Future Summit. All of the college’s constituents were invited and encouraged to participate. More than 200 people, from healthcare, manufacturing, education and more, engaged in discussions about East Central College’s future challenges and how to address them.

“Community input has been invaluable throughout this process,” said Dr. Bauer. “It allowed us to create a plan that truly reflects who we want to be as an institution and how we are going to get there.”

Students also took part in the strategic planning process. In February, more than 50 students came together in series of focus groups to provide input and ideas.

“The student focus groups helped us identify what an ideal student experience should look like at East Central College,” explained Dr. Bauer. “Our students want an environment that is academically challenging and personally meaningful.”

SOAR to 2024 features a new mission and vision for the college, as well as a new set of values. Additionally, five major strategies will help shape the future of the college. The “Pathways” strategy focuses on developing clear academic and career pathways with personalized support to increase enrollment and promote student success.

The “Partnerships” strategy focuses on strengthening partnerships with local high schools, higher education institutions and employers to drive intellectual and economic development in the region.

The “Employees” strategy concentrates on creating a culture of collaboration and learning to attract, retain and develop diverse and talented employees at the college.

Expanding East Central College’s presence and offerings in Rolla to enhance the college’s impact throughout the region is the mission of the “Rolla” strategy.

Finally, the “Financial Strength” strategy puts attention on securing financial strength in order to sustain institutional viability.

East Central College will continue to update the community on its progress throughout implementation of SOAR to 2024.

East Central College Increases Retention and Completion Rates

May 7, 2019 | Campus News

Faculty and staff are working diligently to support students who are in danger of falling behind in class, and it’s producing real results. That was the message from Dr. Michelle Smith, executive director of institutional effectiveness, at the May 6 Board of Trustees meeting.

“East Central College has increased student completion and transfer rates by ten percent in just two years,” she explained. “We’ve also increased retention rates in the same period.”

A new early intervention program launched at the beginning of the school year is helping the cause. It allows faculty to identify students who are not attending class, missing assignments or otherwise not succeeding. Those students are then referred to support services on campus to help them improve.

“This initiative would not have been possible without our dedicated Retention Committee,” added Dr. Smith. “They spent countless hours implementing this program to help support our students.”

Dr. Smith also gave an update on several other key areas regarding our current college strategic plan. The number of online students has increased nearly five percent, with online credit hours growing nearly twelve percent. The College also saw positive numbers regarding workforce development.

“We experienced year-over-year enrollment growth in our apprenticeship program and Center for Workforce Development training opportunities,” Dr. Smith said. “The number of businesses and industries we served jumped more than 45 percent.”

While enrollment numbers have fallen the past few years, Dr. Smith noted that enrollment numbers are trending upward for the Summer 2019 semester, as well as the Fall 2019 semester.

East Central College is currently developing a new strategic plan. The SOAR to 2024 initiative has been a collaboration of community members, business leaders, faculty and staff. It is scheduled to be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval in August 2019.

Enroll in Class, Win Free Gas!

February 28, 2017 | Campus News

Enrollment for current students opens on March 6. When students register for Fall 2017 classes during the first two weeks, March 6-17, they will be automatically entered to win a free gas card!

Winners will be chosen daily, and they will be notified via email. Instructions on how to pick up the gas card will be included in the email.

Students will need to meet with their advisor to get the process started. Contact your academic advisor.

Enrolling for classes early allows East Central College to better plan for next semester!