24 Sep Fall Enrollment Up Slightly at WSC
WILLISTON, N.D. – Record fall enrollment continues at Williston State College with 1,132 registered students according to census totals released Tuesday, September 24.
Of this fall’s enrollees, 834 students are from North Dakota while 143 are from Montana. The remaining 155 come from several other states including California, Colorado, and Minnesota; Canada; and other countries.
This fall’s number is slightly above last year’s then standing record of 1,124 enrolled students.
Released four weeks after the first day of school, census totals demonstrate that enrollment at WSC has increased since Spring 2015 when the highest reported enrollment was 1,009 students.
“For fall 2019 we see continuing growth, but there is also a shift in enrollment and course taking behavior at WSC, with a 6% increase in part-time students,” explained Dr. John Miller, President of WSC. “This enrollment shift is reflective of the great labor and employment climate in northwest North Dakota right now, and students are choosing to work full-time and attend school part-time.”
“WSC offers a number of great scholarship programs that support full-time students and greatly reduce the cost of attendance and student debt,” continued Dr. Miller. “However, there is certainly an attraction for some students to earn a paycheck and further their college education at the same time.”
Early-Entry (dual-credit) enrollment continues to be one factor behind WSC’s steadily increasing numbers. Though spring trends a higher number of Early-Entry students, in part due to more Early-Entry course offerings, Early-Entry headcount for Fall 2019 is 298 students producing 1,104 credits.
Enrollment growth has been steady and at a manageable rate, allowing WSC the time and flexibility to keep pace with expanding course and program requests.
“WSC administration and faculty continue to manage growth by hiring qualified adjuncts and having faculty teach additional sections of high-demand general education courses,” stated Kim Wray, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “This effort allows class sizes to remain small in order to build strong relationships with our students.”
The Williams County Graduate (WCG), the expanded Regional County, and the Academic Achievement Award (AAA) scholarships also play a role in attracting full-time students.
This fall, the WSC Foundation funded over $665,000 in scholarship awards, supporting 275 Williams County, Regional, and AAA scholarship recipients.
The WSC Foundation encourages anyone interested in donating to the regional scholarship programs or the housing incentive program to contact the WSC Foundation at 701.572.9275.
For more information on WSC’s fall enrollment, please contact Dr. John Miller at john.s.miller@willistonstate.edu.
For more information, please visit www.willistonstate.edu, call 701.774.4200, or stop by 1410 University Avenue, Williston, ND.