PTC enrollment reaches, surpasses milestone figure of 1,000

With a fall enrollment headcount of 1,022, Pine Technical College now is serving its largest enrollment in college history. While the economy has factored into PTC’s higher enrollment, President Robert Musgrove notes there’s more to it.

“In addition to current economic conditions, more people are recognizing we offer quality instruction, transferability, accreditation and MnSCU affiliation – and we’re affordable. Altogether, PTC just makes sense for Pine Area students,” Musgrove says.

PTC responded to the enrollment surge by hiring additional full-time and part-time instructors, which allowed the college to offer more course sections. Plus, more evening and weekend courses were offered this fall semester to accommodate classroom and lab availability.

“We’re working hard to meet the needs of our region and be an engine of workforce development,” says Nancy Mach, PTC’s Dean of Student Affairs. “One focus of our mission is to be a community resource for quality education that improves and empowers learners, and by the numbers, we’re doing that – we broke 1,000!” Mach exclaims.

Along these same lines, the financial aid department has seen and processed a record number of FAFSAs (Free Applications for Federal Student Aid). At the fall start, the college received 1,107 financial aid applications compared to 944 received at last year’s fall start – a 12 percent increase.

In addition to more instructors, more courses, more financial aid processing, the college also has grown physically to accommodate the surge. In July, the campus landscape underwent a major change with the addition of 80 new parking spaces. And, in anticipation of future growth and services, PTC has plans to add a hi-tech business incubator to the campus. Groundbreaking for this new 20,000 square-foot facility is planned for July, 2011.

PTC offers certificates, diplomas and associate degrees and currently is accepting applications for its spring, 2011 semester, which starts Jan. 10, 2011. For more information, call 320-629-5100, or visit www.pinetech.edu.