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For immediate release
JCC enrollment reflects continued trend toward younger, more full-time students
On the opening day of Fall 2005 semester, Jackson Community College's enrollment shows an increase in billing contact hours, while overall headcount remains steady compared to opening day Fall '04. Registration continues into the semester for the late-starting classes, so opening day figures are tentative.
The College's billing contact hours - a measure of the actual time spent with the instructor in class, plus scheduled times in labs and clinicals over the course of the semester - is at 52,021.09, up from 51,737.27 on opening day Fall '04, an increase of about 284 hours. Student headcount is nearly static, at 5,148 students this semester compared to 5,150 on opening day of Fall 2004.
JCC continues to see a higher percentage of full-time students this Fall, at 42 percent of the total student body, the same as 2004. That amount is up significantly from just a few years ago; in 2001 it was 29 percent. This represents the continuing trend of more younger students, with 71 percent of students aged 30 and under, who take full-time course loads of 12 billing contacts or more per semester. JCC students overall are taking an average of 10 billing contact hours per semester.
Another highlight from this Fall's figures is an increase in enrollment of ethnic minorities, who total 448 students this year, compared to 426 last fall. Minorities represent 8.7 percent of JCC's current total headcount. The largest increase is seen in enrollment of Hispanics, up 18 percent over this same day last year, while enrollment of African-Americans is up 3.6 percent.
Enrollment by JCC's different campuses shows the Hillsdale campus down 13.4 percent and Lenawee up 7.2 percent, while Internet-based distance learning is up 12.5 percent.
