PTC grows in enrollment, programs, courses, and facilities

At the tenth day of the Spring, 2013 semester, after the flurry of activity brought by “Add/Drop Week” and accommodating late applicants, Pine Technical College marks another round of remarkable growth. Compared to last Spring’s start, enrollment has increased by 8.2 percent, and late registration for many of the college’s remote students has not yet taken place. PTC administrators predict this will further increase the college’s numbers by about 40 students.

“The data tell an important story,” says PTC President Robert Musgrove, Ph.D. “We know two-year colleges typically see more students enrolling during economic downturns, but PTC has seen remarkable growth over the last several years, from year-to-year, and from semester-to-semester. We are experiencing a strong, steady, and sustained upward trend in applicants and students,” Musgrove explains.

PTC administrators are not the only ones taking notice; Community College Week recently named PTC as one of the nation’s fastest-growing, two-year, small public colleges, ranked at number 39 by percent change in headcount. The growth is attributed to a number of things, including the college’s new medical assistant program, its new business technology program, and more courses offered in alternative formats and schedules, including more general education courses and courses transferable to upper-division colleges and universities.

In preparation for the Fall ’12/Spring ’13 academic year’s anticipated jump in enrollment, the college had built new classroom space, as well as repurposed and enhanced existing facilities over much of the last summer term. With a new medical assisting classroom and lab, an added classroom building located to the main building’s east, new office space for the college’s Child Care Aware staff, as well as two new storage buildings on the south side of the campus, the campus now boasts seven buildings and a total of 102,654 square feet.

“The additions and improvements go hand-in-hand with our overall goal of enhancing the educational experience of our students,” says Musgrove. “It’s part of our mission in providing superior and relevant education, and to that end, it’s important to provide the right kind of learning environment supported with updated technologies to facilitate student learning,” Musgrove adds.