OTC starts spring semester with 16% enrollment increase

Ozarks Technical Community College started its spring semester Jan. 18 with 13,220 enrolled students, 16.1 percent more than the spring semester of 2010, according to an OTC news release.

The majority of the enrollees are from the Springfield campus, 8,986 students, but the Waynesville Education Center has shown the most growth. Its 303 students represent a 73.1 percent increase from last spring, school officials said.

Springfield campus enrollment is up 10.8 percent compared to spring semester 2010.

The breakdown of the rest of the students:

• Richwood Valley campus: 1,096 students, 20.6 percent growth
• Lebanon Education Center: 539 students, 30.2 percent growth
• Branson Education Center: 409 students, 15.5 percent growth
• OTC Online: 1,887 students, 34.2 percent growth

Though 1,887 students are taking OTC classes only online, 4,571 students are taking at least one online class, the release said.

"With this year’s planned expansions for our Springfield and Waynesville locations, as well as the move to our new facility in Lebanon, we are working hard to provide the space and resources that our growing student population demands," OTC President Hal Higdon said in the release.[[In-content Ad]]