This content was published: May 13, 1999. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
College-wide Enrollment Continues to Climb at PCC
Photos and story by James Hill
Spring term enrollment figures for Portland Community College show an increase of both full-time equivalent students and total headcount for the third straight spring term, according to a report compiled recently by the college’s Institutional Research office.
PCC’s enrollment report after the fourth week of spring term when figures are submitted to the state confirm a college-wide enrollment increase of nearly two percent in full-time equivalent students. FTE is the total number of full-time and part-time students combined to determine a full-time equivalent student count. There was also a more than three percent increase in headcount for spring term, which is the total number of students attending classes at PCC.
These figures continue the steady increase in spring term enrollment college-wide at PCC from spring term 1997, when 32,048 students attended classes at one or more of the college’s comprehensive campuses or training centers. This term, 34,607 students have chosen PCC to obtain a degree, enhance their skills in the workplace, get a jump on a four-year college degree and a myriad of other reasons geared toward self-improvement. Annually, more than 86,000 people attend classes at PCC, making the college the largest post-secondary institution in the state of Oregon.
The comprehensive campus showing the largest growth spurt was the Rock Creek Campus in Washington County. FTE rose 5.7 percent and headcount at the campus, located between Beaverton and Aloha at 17705 N.W. Springville Road, jumped 4.9 percent, or a total of 4,868 students, for spring term. The other two comprehensive campuses, Sylvania in Southwest Portland and Cascade in North Portland, showed drops in enrollment for spring term. Cascade’s FTE fell 4.5 percent, but the headcount remained at 1998 levels. Sylvania enrollment figures revealed a slight drop of less than one percent in FTE (-.2 percent) and headcount (-.5 percent).
Where PCC experienced the largest gains in enrollment were at the combined Open Campus centers and community locations, with a leap in FTE by more than six percent (6.2), and a seven-percent hike in headcount, for a total of 18,704 Open Campus students.
Open Campus brings life-long learning, customized work force and short-term training to community locations throughout PCC’s 1,500-square-mile district.
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »