Eastern Gateway enrollment is up 9 percent

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Eastern Gateway Community College is adding to its reputation as one of the nation’s fastest-growing colleges by hitting another milestone with fall enrollment.

For the first time in college history, fall enrollment surpassed 3,000 students to reach 3,155. The overall head count is up 9 percent from fall 2013, when Eastern Gateway enrolled 2,904 students.

The new student count is 1,242, up from 1,197 a year ago. Continuing and returning students show the largest increase, going from 1,707 from last year at this time to 1,913 this fall.

The college struck another milestone for the 2013-14 academic year when 4,338 unduplicated students registered. This is the first time enrollment broke the 4,000 mark.

A third of Eastern Gateway students continue to take at least one online class. The college expects that number to increase now that approval has been received to offer online programs for an associate’s degree.

“The college community is pleased to report these improvements in enrollment, and we are especially pleased that the fall retention rate increased by 12 percent,” said Laura Meeks, college president. “Attracting new students and helping our students succeed are always priorities, but we are encouraged with the retention numbers being reported.”

As a Leader College with the Achieving the Dream National Reform Network, Eastern Gateway has worked for the last decade on improving student success through completion of courses and through student-goal attainment that includes graduation and transfer.

Carol Lincoln, the Achieving the Dream senior vice president, recently responded to the college’s annual report, saying, “We appreciate the hard work, time and resources that your institution devotes to your Achieving the Dream efforts. Your college should be commended for its strategic plan that focuses on student success and incorporates metrics to measure and monitor progress.”

Lincoln also praised the college’s regular conversations about student success with faculty and staff.

The college’s Achieving the Dream efforts positions the college well for the work it must accomplish with the new Ohio completion plan for community colleges. Work will continue with individual students on their skills and goals and further professional development will be offered to faculty and staff to guide this completion work, Lincoln added.