OTC spring enrollment up 14 percent from 2009

Enrollment at Ozarks Technical Community College is up again for the spring, offering the latest evidence of a regional trend.

OTC announced spring enrollment of 11,379 students, up 14.3 percent from the spring of 2009. Springfield campus enrollment is up 11 percent to 7,901, and the number of students taking the majority of their courses online increased to 1,406, up 33 percent from last spring.

The growth at OTC mirrors an ongoing trend; as SBJ has reported, the Missouri Community College Association said that the state's 12 community colleges showed a nearly 13 percent increase in enrollment in August. Neosho-based Crowder College led the group with an increase of 33.5 percent, while OTC posted 15.6 percent growth, the state's sixth-highest.

"People continue to see the community college as a path toward employment and a better life," OTC President Hal Higdon said in a news release. "While this mass migration to our college causes further strain on our parking, study space, classroom space and college services, we are continuing to put every effort into meeting the needs of our students."

The Richwood Valley campus in Ozark has enrollment of 915 students, up 19 percent from last year. Lebanon's education center has 414 students, up 18 percent; the Branson education center has 354 students, up 16 percent; and the Waynesville center has 175 students, up nearly 60 percent.