MATC enrollment up by 13 percent
Kayla Christian
Issue date: 9/23/09 Section: News
We've all noticed that the hallways are overcrowded, classes have more students in them than ever before and programs have a multiple year waiting list. Dislocated workers, stay at home moms and returning soldiers, among others, are returning to school in the hopes of getting a degree; because of this, community and technical colleges around the country have seen a dramatic escalation in enrollment.
Now we know that enrollment at Madison Area Technical College is up 13 percent or more, but what does that really mean in regards to head count? Terry Webb, Vice President of Learner Success said, "at least what we think right now, it's about 2,000 more degree credit students this fall than what we had at this point last fall." Webb went on to say that this is the largest amount of degree credit students that MATC has ever seen.
But MATC is not the only two-year school that has been hit with an increase. "I think that, without exception, everyone has seen an increase," Webb confirmed. Webb also said that the average increase from last fall is about 10 percent in all of the other Wisconsin Technical College System schools.
"We don't have a crystal ball, we don't know exactly how many students are going to come, but we knew we'd get more," Webb said. Still, the college did take some steps to prepare. MATC started putting a budget together last year anticipating a bigger increase than previous years. That increase began last spring semester, with six percent more students, and continued into the summer, with well over 20 percent more students. Besides the budget plan, which is normal, the college also opened up a campus on the west side, doubled the space of the south side campus and doubled the space of the Fort Atkinson campus in anticipation for this fall semester. The college also set aside money last year to help with the cost of close to 200 more courses to fit the needs of all the new students, according to Webb.
The sudden enrollment increase has had a strong effect on programs of study and their wait lists. Arts and Sciences, which is the biggest program MATC has to offer, increased with about 1,187 more students than last fall semester.
Now we know that enrollment at Madison Area Technical College is up 13 percent or more, but what does that really mean in regards to head count? Terry Webb, Vice President of Learner Success said, "at least what we think right now, it's about 2,000 more degree credit students this fall than what we had at this point last fall." Webb went on to say that this is the largest amount of degree credit students that MATC has ever seen.
But MATC is not the only two-year school that has been hit with an increase. "I think that, without exception, everyone has seen an increase," Webb confirmed. Webb also said that the average increase from last fall is about 10 percent in all of the other Wisconsin Technical College System schools.
"We don't have a crystal ball, we don't know exactly how many students are going to come, but we knew we'd get more," Webb said. Still, the college did take some steps to prepare. MATC started putting a budget together last year anticipating a bigger increase than previous years. That increase began last spring semester, with six percent more students, and continued into the summer, with well over 20 percent more students. Besides the budget plan, which is normal, the college also opened up a campus on the west side, doubled the space of the south side campus and doubled the space of the Fort Atkinson campus in anticipation for this fall semester. The college also set aside money last year to help with the cost of close to 200 more courses to fit the needs of all the new students, according to Webb.
The sudden enrollment increase has had a strong effect on programs of study and their wait lists. Arts and Sciences, which is the biggest program MATC has to offer, increased with about 1,187 more students than last fall semester.
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posted 4/12/10 @ 6:05 AM CST
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