For the fourth consecutive semester, enrollment is up at East Central College.  The number of students enrolled for the 2010 spring semester stands at 4,346, an increase of 21 percent since the fall of 2008.   

            “Enrollment is up from last fall when we went over the 4,000 mark in headcount for the first time in school history,” stated Dr. Ed Jackson, ECC president.  “The students are enrolled in 41,433 credit hours which amount to a 21.3 percent increase when compared to last spring.”  The figures reflect enrollment at the end of the fourth week of classes, which subtracts withdrawals and cancellations that occurred during the first 20 days of the semester.

            The number of part-time students is just slightly higher than the number attending college full-time, with 50.3 percent enrolled on a part-time basis, taking less than 12 credit hours.  Women continue to outnumber men at East Central this spring.  Almost 60 percent of the student body is female. East Central also saw an increase of over 40 percent in the number of first-time degree seeking freshmen this spring.  There are 290 students who enrolled at ECC this spring to begin their post-secondary education.

           Almost 39 percent of ECC students are classified as transfer majors, intending to move on to a four-year college or university after ECC.

          Enrollment is up at ECC off-site locations for the spring.  The Southwest Area Center in Sullivan has 14 percent more students than last spring.  At Four Rivers Career Center in Washington the number of students increased 43 percent, while the student population in Rolla increased almost 27 percent.

          Students age 25 & older make up one third of the student body, up slightly from the 2009 fall semester.  College officials state that the dislocated workers coming to ECC to retrain account for most of that boost. The number of adults 50 and older taking credit classes increased this spring to 170.