CSC expecting another enrollment increase

The preliminary enrollment figures of Monday, Aug. 18, show that 287 more students have signed up for classes than had registered at the same time a year ago. The full-time equivalency, a figure determined by total number of credit hours, also is up 173 from that time. Monday’s head count was 2,565 and the FTE was 2,049. After students enroll in courses that begin later in the semester, college officials are hopeful that CSC will eclipse the fall 2007 end of term enrollment figure of 2,726.

“I’m cautiously optimistic, but the numbers are looking really good,” said Dr. Randy Rhine, CSC vice president for enrollment management and student services.

CSC’s enrollment will be bolstered by another large class of first-year students. Rhine said 568 students have signed up for this week’s orientation session for new students, which equals about 100 more registrants than last fall. The new students will be filling the vacancy of last spring’s graduating class of 297, which was the largest since 2000.

Rhine said the projected enrollment increase is the result of many factors, including the fact that more students from outside Nebraska are enrolling at CSC than in years past.

The CSC Office of Institutional Research reports this fall’s new students represent 30 states with 62 percent originating from Nebraska, 12 percent from South Dakota, 9 percent from Wyoming and 5 percent from Colorado. Those from Nebraska are from 66 of the state’s 93 counties. In past years, Rhine said about 30 percent of CSC’s student body was from outside Nebraska.