Randolph Community College Enrollment Jumps Again; Classrooms Overflowing

Randolph Community College continues to break enrollment records this spring. Classrooms and parking lots are full and, in some cases, overflowing.

When spring semester registration ended Tuesday, 2,971 students had enrolled in college credit classes. That number is an all-time high for a spring semester at RCC, a 16.2% increase of over last spring’s enrollment of 2,557, according to Karen Ritter, director of planning and assessment. This spring, the number of new student applications increased by nearly 30% over last spring (from 1,179 to 1,527).

Many classrooms are full to overflowing, and the College has increased the number of sections of many courses to handle the extra students. Ritter noted that 18 sections of Introduction to Computers are being offered this spring, with 78% of those classrooms filled to capacity. Fourteen General Psychology course sections are offered, with 64% full or over. College-wide, 109 classrooms are filled to capacity and an additional 28 classrooms had at least one student over its stated capacity, said Ritter.

"These enrollment figures indicate that, even in the worst of economic times, the people of our community turn to RCC to find hope and opportunity," said Robert S. Shackleford, RCC president. "We are dedicated to the mission of preparing our students for the jobs and careers of their dreams."

The largest growing technical programs were Industrial Systems Technology (177%), Automotive Systems Technology (94%), Funeral Service Education (71%), and Healthcare Management Technology (50%), according to Ritter. The Associate in General Education curriculum (taken by many students waiting to get into programs like Nursing or Radiography) grew by 50%. In addition, several of RCC's lowest enrollment programs saw a boost this spring – Entrepreneurship grew by 233% (from 3 to 10 students) and Biotechnology by 125% (from 4 to 9 students).

Parking has been at a premium, too. The paved parking lots are full most mornings, with students nearly filling the gravel overflow lot next to the old Klaussner plant purchased by Randolph County for the College two years ago. That facility is awaiting renovations to provide more classroom space.