ENROLLMENT GROWTH AT PGCC

By Tia L.S. Holmes
Prince George’s Community College (PGCC) has made great strides toward its strategically planned goal of increasing enrollment through 2010. According to the Office of Planning and Institutional Research’s annual “Third Week Credit Enrollment” report for the fall 2009 semester, PGCC has experienced a 43.4-percent increase in full-time enrollment and 2.7-percent increase in part-time enrollment, with an overall total enrollment increase of 13 percent from the fall 2008 semester alone. This represents a consistent year-on-year increase since fall 2007. The total credit headcount for this semester comes in at a whopping 13,685, up from 12,110 for last year’s fall semester. These figures exceed the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s (MHEC) 2009 projection for PGCC by 1,421 students (see “Fall Semester Comparisons”).
The Office of Planning and Institutional Research reported that this semester’s credit enrollment is the largest since 1984. Current statistics show a 44.9-percent increase in full-time students since last fall. The MHEC stated in its report that total enrollments at community colleges are expected to grow by 15 percent by 2018, with full-time enrollment at a 22-percent increase. According to the “Fast Facts” page of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges website, “Community colleges educate about half the undergraduates in Maryland with about one-third of the total space in public higher education.”
While enrollment has increased overall, a number of the students have amassed in other learning areas. Distance Learning has seen the greatest enrollment growth since last fall at 38.7 percent. The second- and third-greatest increases were at the AAFB and Laurel College Centers — up 21.1 percent and 20.3 percent, respectively — while the Largo Campus jumped 14.9 percent and University Town Center 10.3 percent. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that last year’s population garnered a 12 to 1 student-to-faculty ratio. There is no data for this year’s student-to-faculty ratio; although, the average class size is listed at 20 on the college’s website.