CCSN full-time enrollment doubles in one year

Jennifer Knight

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

Amanda Cobbs, 19, wants to stretch her Millennium Scholarship a bit further.

Jody Yang, 23, plans to boost her grades before transferring to a four-year college.

And Charlette Skidmore, 26, says she doesn't want to pay higher tuition fees at a university for similar classes.

All three students are attending the Community College of Southern Nevada full-time. And all, CCSN officials say, are part of a trend that has more students opting to fulfill general education requirements at the community college, often before moving on to a four-year school.

Full-time enrollment among students at CCSN has doubled from a year ago, according to spring semester enrollment figures. Although the number of students enrolled in CCSN classes this spring dropped from last year, 43.1 percent of students are taking 12 or more credit hours this semester. Last year, only 19.4 percent took a full-time course load.

"Students are coming out of high school and using the college more and more to complete their first and second year rather than going to a four-year institution," said Arlie Stops, CCSN's associate vice president of admissions and records.

Stops said the college is attracting more Millennium Scholarship students like Cobbs because of the cost-savings potential.

"It always rings true at any community college that ... you are going to get more for your money," Stops said.

Cobbs said she has been attending classes at CCSN for four semesters and is concerned about the cost of books and lab fees, which are not covered by her scholarship.

The Millennium Scholarship program provides tuition at Nevada colleges and universities for students who graduate from high school with a 3.0 grade-point average, pass a proficiency exam and meet other requirements.

"I'm just trying to stretch my money further," Cobbs said. "And books and lab fees really add up."

It costs $2,026 a year to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, not including books and miscellaneous fees. It costs only $1,074 a year to attend CCSN.

Jane Nichols, Nevada's higher education chancellor, said the loss of jobs in Southern Nevada's economy could may have added to the rise in the number of full-time students.

"I think you could say that with a higher job loss rate, more people might have the time to attend school full-time and complete a certificate or degree program," Nichols said.

CCSN did experience a drop in enrollment from last year. A total of 30,082 students signed up for classes this spring, compared to 32,324 in spring 2001.

But CCSN officials say that with more funding from the state, enrollment could have been higher.

A random sampling of seven core courses showed that 3,200 attempts by students to register for classes online failed, school officials said.

That number represents only the number of online "hits" that a particular class received; it does not reflect how many students were locked out of attending the community college altogether.

"It's hard to say whether one student tried to get into a class once or five times," Nichols said. "What it does indicate is that there was more of a demand for classes than there were classes available."

That demand has left CCSN officials in a quandary, like many other higher education institutions that had flat budgets. Because growth triggers funding but the funding does not accommodate growth, it creates a "Catch-22," said Patty Charlton, associate vice president of finance and administration.

"Our biggest challenge is that we are completely packed," Charlton said. "There is just nowhere to put the students and our budget is contingent upon getting additional enrollment."

Ron Remington, CCSN's president, said the college will get additional space next fall in the form of temporary classrooms in trailers.

"That's really just a stopgap measure," Remington said. "In order for our budget to be healthy we need to be allowed to grow."