Dateline: September 22, 2005

CC fall enrollment records new high

By Roger  Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon College enrollment hit a record high for the second year in a row this month, and CC President Myles Shelton thinks it’s a trend that could continue.

Information reported to the Texas Association of Community Colleges show CC’s total headcount for the current semester as 1,150, an increase of 11.3 percent over last fall.

“Clarendon College is going in the right direction, and it’s the result of a lot of hard work by our faculty and staff,” Shelton said. “I’m real proud of the job they’re doing.”

But the big picture is what really makes the CC president’s face light up. Thirty-one out of 50 Texas community colleges reported enrollments as of September 14, and Clarendon College had the biggest gain on a percentage basis.

“This is just an indicator of a lot of good things going on at the college,” Shelton said. “It speaks highly of the work our faculty is doing in the classrooms, and it speaks highly of our programs and offerings.”

The new enrollment number is thought to be the highest in the 107-year history of the institution and comes at a time when Frank Phillips College, South Plains College, and Amarillo College all reported decreased fall headcounts.

Despite the growth, CC remains the second smallest community college in the state; but if the trend continues, that could soon change. Shelton said Frank Phillips in Borger is the third smallest and reported a 7.4 percent drop in enrollment.

“Another 139 students and we’ll catch up to Frank Phillips,” he said.

Clarendon reports 410 students on the main campus, 254 students at the CC Pampa Center, and 215 students in Childress at the state’s Roach correctional unit. The remainder of CC students are enrolled in concurrent and online classes or in classes held in several area communities.

“There are successful things happening in every program we have,” Shelton said. “It’s making it possible for students to succeed in meeting their goals, and that’s what we’re all about – student success.”

The growth should continue next year with the opening of a new nursing program in Pampa and a new desktop publishing program at the Roach unit.

“There are other program possibilities for next year,” Shelton said. “We just have to see what the needs of students are and what the needs are for business and industry.”

Beyond the immediate future, Shelton says Clarendon College should continue to draw students to its main campus from the local area, but drawing more students from outside the area will depend on the availability of housing both on and off campus.

“If we had an apartment or housing complex here, we could draw more students,” he said.

Growth at the CC Pampa Center will likely be tied to the development of special programs and working with the Pampa Center Foundation to achieve those goals, Shelton said.

Childress is another location where CC can expect to see some growth.

“Lots of good things are happening in Childress,” Shelton said, “and we’re going to be a part of that thanks to a new advisory committee we’re working with there.”

In other college news, the CC Board of Regents met in regular session last Thursday and adopted a tax rate of $0.2065 per $100 valuation, which is the same as the rate was last year.

The board considered personnel and approved hiring Jack McCarty as the computer technology instructor at the CC Pampa Center and also approved hiring Ashlee Estlack and Tracey Rhodes as CC’s public information officers.

Regents affirmed an application for a desktop publishing workforce program at Childress’ Roach Unit.