MCC sets fall attendance record

For the second year in a row, McHenry County College has broken fall attendance records.

This fall, the headcount has increased to 7,392, an 8.5 percent increase, and a 35.8 percent increase since fall 2005, college officials said.

The increase is due to a multitude of reasons including student participation of the Promise program, both traditional and adult students pursuing degrees and other career training, and to enhance current job skills.

"We have seen an increased number of students who are realizing the importance of a degree to advance their careers, or in some cases become employable," said Melissa Stutz, director of MCC's Fast Track, a program offering professional certificates and accelerated degree programs for adults. "Given the recent state of the economy, we are continually working to be responsive to students' needs with our program offerings. For example, we have recently added the one-semester bookkeeping certificate and the Business Management degree online."

A growing number of students looking for career guidance have been visiting MCC's Career Services Department, according to Frank Lanko, coordinator of Career Services.

"We have already seen a large increase in the number of students visiting and using Career Services this semester as students continue to look for part-time and full-time jobs in the community," he said. "Specifically, the center has had a 43 percent increase in appointments from July-August 2009 to July-August 2010."

MCC's enrollment growth also reflects the continued economic downturn and a national trend of community college enrollment growth.

According to Christina Haggerty, a MCC spokeswoman, "As community colleges throughout the country see increased enrollments during this ongoing economic slump, more students and parents are seeing the value in a community college education versus attending a four-year university right out of high school."

As tuition and fees at the average community college run $2,544, a tax credit will cover most of that amount, plus additional savings from living at home, according to DailyFinance writer Zac Bissonnette. "By comparison, a four-year private college charges an average of $26,273 a year in tuition and fees. The smartest college grads are the ones who started at two-year colleges."

The college also contends MCC offers a level of student attention not typically offered by larger colleges.

Such growth doesn't come without its challenges and according to Tony Miksa, vice president of academic and student affairs, MCC has been addressing them.

"The challenges we have seen from an increased student enrollment is finding qualified adjunct instructors and finding classrooms on campus," he said. "We have added more adjuncts, which has enabled us to open more class sections, as appropriate. As a community college, we offer students the benefit of small class sizes and individual instructor interaction. We maintain a low student-to-teacher ratio."

According to Miksa, in the second year of larger enrollment growth, MCC feels its met these challenges by adjusting class schedules as to not have an excess amount of students on campus or cars in the parking lot at the same time.

The school has also added additional staff, including a new, full-time biology instructor and the school is currently seeking an occupations therapy assistant instructor for MCC's newest associate in applied science degree program.

Miksa said classes have filled up quickly and MCC has added more classes to accommodate the demand.

According to MCC's Fall 1oth Day Enrollment Report, compiled by the Office of Institutional Research, student characteristics, except for age, continue to be stable.