Ozarks Tech predicts higher fall enrollment due to healthcare programs

At a time when most higher education institutions are bracing for lower enrollment, Ozarks Technical Community College is planning for the opposite.

The start of the fall semester is more than two months away, but preliminary student numbers are encouraging.

At a retreat for the Ozarks Tech Board of Trustees in early June, college officials said enrollment – compared to the same time a year ago – was up 7%, buoyed by high interest in the health sciences.

Matt Simpson, chief research and governmental affairs officer at Ozarks Tech, said there was also an uptick in the average number of credit hours students were taking.

“Our biggest growth was in health sciences, like it was in the summer,” he said at the June 3 retreat in Branson.

Simpson said an expansion of courses through the Alliance for Healthcare Education was driving growth, starting with a 19% increase in high school students enrolled in the Middle College program.

High school students can train to become a certified nursing assistant or emergency medical technician or take a general health sciences track.

The alliance is a partnership between CoxHealth, Missouri State University, Ozarks Tech and Springfield Public Schools to provide access to affordable training aimed at addressing workforce shortages in healthcare.

The headquarters for the alliance is at Cox North Hospital, in an expanded space that was home to the private Cox College, which will cease to exist in 2027.

Ozarks Tech Chancellor Hal Higdon said the alliance was created to provide a more affordable way to enter or advance in the healthcare sector.

The college has expanded the number of spots in selective programs such as nursing and respiratory therapy, among others.

Simpson said as interest in health sciences programs expands, more students are also signing up for the biological clinical sciences program.

“It’s the program students enroll in when they’re working to try and get in one of the selective programs,” he said.

He said the other academic division where enrollment is up is Arts, Sciences and Business, which offers 28 degree programs.

Simpson said interest in technical education programs appears to be relatively flat for the fall semester, but that could change.

“You’ll see a lot of volatility in the daily numbers,” he said, adding the college “feels very good about where we’re at right now.”

As part of the update, Ozarks Tech looked at the average age of students – which has been hovering at 19 – and the way they are participating in courses.

Simpson said in-person or seated courses are still the top preference, but online-only courses are a close second. Other options include dual credit courses often offered at a high school, live online courses and hybrid courses.

“Our seated courses, the average age is 19. If you look at our online courses, the average age is 21, and that speaks to the flexibility,” he said. “Older students, especially the more they are working, they need those flexible course offerings.”