HOT SPRINGS -- A slight overall increase in enrollment at National Park College ended a downward trend as the school exhibited one of the biggest turnarounds among the state's 22 two-year colleges.
Official enrollment at the college was 3,001 students for the fall 2014 semester. The college reported a total enrollment of 3,015 this semester.
Enrollment was previously reported as 3,025. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education waited about two extra weeks this year for official totals.
The college encountered a sharper decrease in enrollment than expected a year ago. Officials had hoped for enrollment to finish around 3,100.
The fall 2013 enrollment was 3,244. The college's highest enrollment was 4,161 students in the fall of 2011.
A crucial number for a college is full-time enrollment. The Department of Higher Education calculates such enrollment by dividing the total number of school semester credit hours of instruction by 15. Colleges are funded on the basis of full-time enrollment totals.
Brad Moody, associate dean for institutional research and academic affairs, said the college's "head count" has decreased on campus, but its full-time enrollment and school semester credit hours have increased. State funding has remained flat, but the college can receive more revenue from more tuition and fees.
National Park College's full-time enrollment decreased from 2,093 in 2013 to 1,940 a year ago. The college's full-time enrollment is now 1,978.
The school's number of traditional students has increased. More students now attend full time, while part-time enrollment of college students and nontraditional enrollment have decreased.
"It just kind of mirrors the economy," said Melony Ritter, communications director and former coordinator of special projects. "Students leave school and they go back to work. That leaves us with students who are here full time, and that's their goal."
The positive trend occurred without a boost from certain student populations. The college counts the 85 students in the community band only as auditing students. They were previously tallied as part-time students with one hour of credit.
The 0.5 percent increase in actual enrollment was eighth-best among the state's two-year colleges. Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock, the state's largest two-year college, experienced the most significant decrease of 17.2 percent.
The next two largest two-year colleges, Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville and Arkansas State University-Beebe, saw enrollment decrease by 4.8 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively. Enrollment increased at only nine of the 22 schools. National Park College remains the fourth-largest two-year college in the state.
The college countered its decrease in part-time college and nontraditional enrollment with a 60 percent increase in high school students, from 531 to 853, third-most in the state. Only Northwest Arkansas Community College and Southern Arkansas University Tech have more high school students.
Other colleges with a more significant increase in overall enrollment were buoyed by increases in high school students. Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff grew by 2.4 percent overall but increased high school enrollment by 53.3 percent. ASU-Mountain Home experienced the most high school growth at 90 percent. The University of Arkansas Community College at Hope was helped by an expansion of its Texarkana campus.
About 90 percent of high school students earning concurrent credit through National Park College are counted as part-time students. The other 10 percent will earn 12 hours of credit or more this semester.
The college recently doubled the amount of concurrent credit courses offered at local schools. Concurrent credit courses are offered in six of the seven public high schools in Garland County. National Park College began courses at Center Point a year ago.
Teachers must meet higher requirements to be certified to teach classes for college credit. The college's department heads visit the schools to observe teachers.
Concurrent high school enrollment is separate from the enrollment of high school students in technical courses at National Park Technology Center. Students usually earn concurrent credit in the core subjects of English, math, science and social sciences.
"They have to qualify via test scores to enroll in courses," Moody said. "It gives those students a real head start."
Very few National Park Technology Center students earn college credit through their technical classes. High school students can earn concurrent credit in specific technical programs such as pre-engineering and medical procedure classes when they meet certain requirements.
"Concurrent high school enrollment is really where the bulk of our high school students are, without a doubt," Moody said.
National Park Technology Center set a new enrollment record this semester for the seventh consecutive year. Enrollment increased from about 600 a year ago to 625 students.
The Community and Corporate Training Center saw its contact hours with students grow by 2.7 from last year. The totals include open-enrollment continuing-education courses and workforce-development training for local business and industry partners.
Adult education has served a total of 704 students since July 1 through the site on campus, as well as downtown, at the Arkansas Career Training Institute and at the Garland County Detention Center. The total is a 64 percent increase over the same time period last year.
Metro on 09/29/2015