The Lenoir Community College curriculum enrollment drop isn’t what it seems.
The numbers declined 12.6 percent in the fall and 10 percent in the spring, but LCC President Brantley Briley said more students can enroll before the number is finalized.
“Spring opportunities are not over,” he said on Friday, mentioning late start classes. “So we think we are closing the gap.”
The traditional college pathway at LCC is dropping because, hopefully, more area residents are getting trained and into the workforce, Briley said.
“When we say, ‘we’re down,’ we’re down from that bubble we experienced when we had unemployment,” he said. “We’re down from the peak.”
While the numbers fall in the curriculum education arena at LCC, the college’s Continuing Education enrollment has increased by 18 percent this year.
Jay Carraway, vice president of Continuing Education, reported LCC has the second highest enrollment in the 58 schools of the North Carolina Community College System behind Fayetteville Technical Community College.
The program served more than 15,000 students last year.
“The numbers are climbing,” Carraway said. “We try to be as mobile and responsive … as we possibly can. We’re strong in online programs and we have a lot of outreach with our programs.”
Continued Education courses are designed for people who want a jumpstart into the workforce. Carraway said, depending on someone’s personal situation, prospective students may not have time to spend two years on an associate’s degree.
Programs include cosmetology, aerospace, welding, and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). Carraway announced at this week’s Board of Trustees meeting the school will get a new certified telecommunication program featuring a medic responder dispatch service.
He said Briley’s support in finding more funds if he exhausts the budget drives Continuing Education to success.
“This is expanding exponentially, which is unlike most community colleges,” Briley said. “They’re not seeing that type of growth. I think that speaks volumes for … Lenoir Community College meeting the need, and then secondly, the quality of instruction we deliver.”
The Spanish Cosmetology class taught through the Continuing Education curriculum is the only one of its kind east of I-95, attracting students from as far as Winston-Salem for the two-day course.
“When you have loyalty, they’ll travel,” Continuing Education Director Carlos Cotto said. “I did not advertise this class — they came by word of mouth.”
Mitzi Arteaga, 19, used to go to school in Lillington before discovering the cosmetology class at LCC. The closer campus made her Goldsboro commute easier.
“I used to have to drive all the way to Lillington,” she said. “I’m going to get (two) licenses in June.”
She started a year ago with cosmetology and nail technician classes and can work at a shop of her choice or open her own once she passes state board exams.
“There are a lot of benefits,” cosmetology instructor Rose Del Toro said. “People have more knowledge about how to treat customers. I always say if people are more ready to work out there, we have more money in the community.”
While college administrators are delighted with the skyrocketing enrollment percentage of Continuing Education, Briley said they are taking the curriculum education numbers seriously, forming an Operation Energizing Enrollment team.
“We are looking at the way we do business in curriculum,” he said. “In every program, curriculum or continued education, it’s the people who make a difference, and we try our best to make sure we hire the right people.”
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at jessika.morgan@kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessikaMorgan.
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For more information about Continuing Education Programs at Lenoir Community College, visit.lenoircc.edu/Continuing_Education or call 252-527-6223, ext. 704