Pueblo Community College enrollment exceeds pre-pandemic levels by more than 300 students
With 5,997 students enrolled at Pueblo Community College this fall, the school's three campuses are experiencing significant growth.
Compared to fall 2021, PCC saw a nearly 12.5% increase in total headcount this year. Fall 2022 enrollment, as of Oct. 20, also far exceeds the school's pre-pandemic enrollment numbers of 5,137 students in 2018 and 5,657 in 2019. Computer information systems, health profession and welding programs rank among the highest enrolling at the college, PCC President Patty Erjavec said.
Care Forward Colorado:PCC part of free tuition program to address Colorado shortage of health care workers
PCC also experienced a nearly 38% increase in concurrent enrollment students this year: 2,671 high school students are taking college classes at one of PCC's three campuses — 699 more than last year. On the Pueblo campus alone, 1,055 students are concurrently enrolled. The growth in concurrent enrollment follows recent efforts to remove financial barriers faced by high school students.
"There were a lot of barriers that were keeping students from enrolling," Erjavec said. "The school districts pay for the tuition, but the school districts do not pay for the books and the fees. We put together a plan and we received some grant dollars to allow us to help the students."
In 2021, PCC received funding from Pueblo County commissioners and other grants to cover costs of books and supplies for concurrent enrollment students. The following year, PCC's Pueblo campus implemented a free transportation program that buses Pueblo-area high school students to and from campus.
Outside of concurrent enrollment initiatives, PCC continues to leverage funding from Pueblo County government, the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and other donors for student financial aid.
"We meet students where they are and then we provide them with whatever resources are necessary to overcome the barriers," Erjavec said.
Pueblo Corporate College, a division of PCC offering non-credit corporate training and professional development, also experienced growth. Since July, Pueblo Corporate College has provided training to 10 employers and seen 519 students enroll in its courses. Popular courses include training in industrial maintenance technology, non-destructive testing, welding and leadership development, said Amanda Corum, executive director of Pueblo Corporate College.
CSU Pueblo Enrollment:CSU Pueblo reports largest class of first-year students since 2018
"We work with a lot of employers and they determine skill need for their employees," she said. "We will develop customized training solutions for them. We also work with employers who are hiring a lot of people and we will develop, kind of like a new-hire program for them where students come to school with us before they even start working with the employer."
PCC has campuses in Pueblo, at 900 W. Orman Ave.; in Canon City, and in southwestern Colorado. There are three sites within the southwest campus: Durango, Mancos and Bayfield. PCC spring 2023 registration opens Nov. 7.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Community College fall enrollment exceeds pre-pandemic levels
