NORFOLK, Neb. – Northeast Community College is experiencing its largest enrollment in the last 10-years. “The beginning of the Fall 2022 semester shows that Northeast Community College has experienced its highest 10th day enrollment numbers in the last ten years,” said Amanda Nipp, vice president of student services.
“The beginning of the Fall 2022 semester shows that Northeast Community College has experienced its highest 10th day enrollment numbers in the last ten years,” said Amanda Nipp, vice president of student services. “Compared with Fall 2021, which was Northeast’s second highest enrollment on record, we are up 3% in headcount and up 5% in credit hours.”
The 10th day Enrollment Report is a standard among the higher education community that captures opening enrollment data each semester. It is prepared by Northeast’s Institutional Research and Analytics Office.
Northeast reports 5,219 students were enrolled as of the 10th day of the Fall 2022 semester. Compared to Fall 2021, headcount is up 160 students and credit hours are up 2,071 to begin the 2022-23 academic year. Northeast also saw a 4.4% rise in freshmen students and a 1.3% jump in the number of continuing students.
Nipp said enrollment numbers at Northeast took a “serious hit” in 2020 as the pandemic continued to wreak havoc on society, “but the numbers have bounced back and are now at the highest freshmen enrollment we have seen in the last ten-years.”
Moreover, several hundred high school students from the region have begun their journey to a career by enrolling in Northeast. The 10th day Enrollment Report confirms that 1,748 Early College students have registered at Northeast this fall, up 9% or 147 students from Fall 2021. Early College credit hours are up nearly 13% over a year ago.
“Early College numbers are also the highest 10th day ever at Northeast and play a significant role in both overall headcount and credit hours this fall,” Nipp said.
The number of freshmen international students has increased as well. At the beginning of the semester, 31 new international students were enrolled at Northeast, making it the largest incoming class of international students at the College in the last 10-years.
“We are pleased to see that students are coming to Northeast to pursue their educational credentials after what we experienced at the height of the pandemic in 2020. Everyone here is focused on making sure that our students remain on their paths to achieve their goals,” said Dr. Leah Barrett, president. “The faculty and staff have noticed renewed levels of enthusiasm by our students. It feels like we are at full strength in providing learning and engagement opportunities for the residents of northeast and north central Nebraska. The 10th day Enrollment Report is an illustration of our focus on empowering every person in the region to achieve their academic and workforce goals.”
The report was shared with the Northeast Board of Governors at its monthly meeting on Thursday in Norfolk. Nipp told board members she is pleased to see the strong increase in enrollment.
“We are definitely bucking the trend in being steady or to be up in community college enrollment nationally. When we talk with our peers about it, they’re blown away when we say that our enrollment is up; because that’s not what they’re experiencing. We are unique and I’m very grateful for that.”
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PHOTO CUTLINE
Incoming freshmen students at Northeast Community College pose for a class photo outside of the College’s Union 73 on the Norfolk campus during New Student Orientation in August. Northeast Community College is reporting its largest enrollment in a decade. “The beginning of the Fall 2022 semester shows that Northeast Community College has experienced its highest 10th day enrollment numbers in the last ten years,” said Amanda Nipp, vice president of student services.