CC enrollment hits new high

Clarendon College this month has posted its highest fall enrollment in the last 15 years – and possibly the highest in the history of the institution.

CC President Myles Shelton released information Monday showing the total headcount for the current semester as 1,033 – approximately seven percent above last fall’s total and a 32.1 percent increase since 1998.

“We’re very pleased with the numbers,” Shelton said. “We think we still have room to grow on this campus and in Pampa and Childress, and we’re going to work toward that end.”

The total includes 402 students attending the home campus, 239 at the CC Pampa Center, and the remainder enrolled at classes held throughout the college’s service area and enrolled in distance learning or online classes.

Shelton said the boost in enrollment was attributable to several things including the new residence hall offering more places for students to live from outside the area, better local enrollment from the surrounding area, and the availability of programs that more students are interested in.

“It’s a combination of these things,” Shelton said. “We have several good quality programs and not just one or two programs carrying all the weight. It’s everybody working together and good recruiting.”

The enrollment figure counts students in academic and vocational classes and does not include continuing education classes.

Shelton said he is certain the college is at its highest point since the mid-1980s and is confident that the number is the highest in school history but said his staff would have to dig out records from the 1960s to be sure of that.

Despite the increase, Clarendon College remains one of the two smallest community colleges in the state. Ranger College was the smallest last year, and CC was second. Shelton said Ranger had not yet posted its enrollment numbers for fall 2004.

Enrollment this semester and next spring will be used by the Legislature in determining appropriations for the next biennium.

Despite a slightly higher enrollment, CC’s sources are preliminarily predicting a five percent cut in state funding.

“Obviously we’re going to lobby for that not to happen,” Shelton said.

In other college news, the CC Board of Regents met in regular session last Thursday and set the tax rate for the coming year at $0.2065 per $100 valuation, up from $0.1987 last year. The difference will amount to $3.98 on a $50,000 piece of property.

Regents also adopted the catalog, policy manual, and student handbook for the current academic year and accepted a bid on lot 27 in Carroll Creek Acres in Howardwick as presented by the appraisal district.

Personnel at the Pampa Center was the subject discussed in closed session.

Regents also approved hiring two academic advisors/recruiters – Jaylene Watkins in Clarendon and Lindsey Been at the Pampa Center.