Published: August 24, 2009 09:42 pm      

Ivy Tech in Sellersburg starts fall breaking records

Preliminary numbers show 14.5 percent increase in fall enrollment compared to last fall

With the parking lot packed, faculty and staff being shuttled to school from an off-campus location and the hallways bustling with students on the first day of school Monday, it’s no surprise to those at Ivy Tech Community College in Sellersburg that they’ve grown.

However, the extent might be.

Preliminary figures show the school is up 14.5 percent in enrollment when compared to last fall’s record breaking enrollment.

Terry Nolot, vice chancellor of enrollment services, said the campus usually grows about 10 percent each fall when compared to the previous fall. However, he said this year’s growth is “unprecedented.”

“We’ve been very consistent in our enrollment growth, but this is a very exceptional fall,” Nolot said.

Though the final figures won’t be released until tomorrow, Nolot said as of Friday, the school had 4,902 students enrolled.

That growth does cause some challenges, which may be solved once the campus expansion project is done. However, the groundbreaking is about a month away, leaving college officials finding ways to make do. Nolot said for the beginning of school, faculty and staff are parking in a lot they’ve been allowed to use that’s adjacent to Interstate 65 and being shuttled in to campus. He said class sizes have increased and more sections are being offered to make room for the extra students.

“The classes are crowded. I noticed that,” said 24-year-old Stephenie Hill, who transferred to the campus this year.

“It looked like there’s more people here,” said Matthew Ferguson, a second year student. “I guess it’s because of the economy — that affects a lot of things.”

That is the reason that brought Hill as well as Ferguson to campus. Hill was recently laid off from a factory. Ferguson was a contractor, struggling to find work.

“I just don’t want to go back to a factory,” Hill said, adding that she hopes to find a job in her field of study, human services.

Ferguson is studying to be a registered nurse — a career he hopes will be more in demand than his previous one.

Nolot said that’s right in line with the goal of Ivy Tech, which is to train people for the jobs that are out there.

“Our role is to build a workforce,” he said. “We’re playing our role as it should be.”

Another contributor to the high enrollment is retention, according to Ben Harris, assistant vice chancellor of enrollment services.

Harris said preliminary figures from Friday show the school kept 86 percent of its students from spring to fall this year. Last year, that was 78.3 percent.

He said he believes that is due to the college’s quality, as well as price and location.

“It lets us know we’re doing things well and we’re serving the students well,” he said.

The Sellersburg campus isn’t alone in breaking records. As of Wednesday, the enrollment at all Ivy Tech campuses statewide topped 106,644, an all-time record, according to Ivy Tech officials. That’s up 24.3 percent, or 20,000 students, with some still registering at that time.

As for looking ahead, Nolot said he doesn’t set enrollment goals, so he doesn’t have one for next year.

“The focus should always be on student success and what they need and the enrollment will take care of itself,” he said.



BY THE NUMBERS

• 14.5 percent — Amount of growth in enrollment this fall when compared to last fall

• 86 percent — Amount of students who continued their education at Ivy Tech from the spring semester

• 4,902 — Preliminary number of students enrolled

• 20,000 — Statewide increase in enrollment at all Ivy Tech campuses combined

— Based on preliminary figures released by Ivy Tech