CC spring enrollment hits new record

Clarendon College set a new record for spring enrollment following the 12th class day last Wednesday with final headcounts coming in at 1,393.

That total reflects a 13.34 percent growth compared to the spring 2016 enrollment of 1,229. The new record is the highest spring enrollment in the school’s 118-year history and marks CC’s fourth consecutive semester of double-digit growth.

“Our success is due to hard work and a lot of effort on the parts of a lot of people,” CC President Robert Riza said. “Our faculty and staff are committed to student success and work very hard to achieve these goals.”

Dr. Riza pointed to growth in CC’s correctional education program and increasing dual credit among area high schools as reasons for the higher enrollment numbers.

“We also had two vocational nursing cohorts start in January when we realigned the program to better align with our bridge program,” the president said.

The number of students taking classes in correctional facilities was 82 higher than this time last year, and the number of high school students taking college classes grew by 85 with the largest growth coming from students in Pampa, Groom, and Amarillo.

Head counts on campuses in Clarendon, Childress, and Amarillo were down, but enrollment at the Pampa campus was up by 4.2 percent.

CC also saw more students taking classes online with growth in that segment of enrollment up 73.6 percent.

Contact hours, which is part of what the state uses to determine CC’s funding, was also up 10.7 percent.

Riza also says his administration has plans to build on this spring’s enrollment growth with proposals that will be put before the CC Board of Regents next week.