SKYCTC enrollment rises alongside state gains

by DAVID MAMARIL HOROWITZ david.horowitz@bgdailynews.com

 

Enrollment of credential-seeking students has risen nearly 12%, to 3,282 students, at Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, according to SKYCTC.

“We look forward to supporting the students in their pursuit of a more prosperous future,” SKYCTC Interim President Brooke Justice said.

This growth, which reached 14% for all students, occurs as the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, the 16-college organization SKYCTC is a part of, expects to hit its highest enrollment in a decade. Last week, KCTCS stated that its enrollment is on track to increase 8.4%, to more than 85,000 students – adding that it experienced “substantial growth across all student classifications, races and ethnicities, age groups and in targeted industry sectors.”

At SKYCTC, enrollment has grown across all program areas, with interest increasing in technical programs, particularly in health-related fields such as nursing, according to the college. Interest has also grown, in particular, in advanced manufacturing as well as in business and information technology programs, the college stated.

KCTCS’s figures show gains in these areas at the state level, with enrollment growing in health care by 17%, construction by 10.6%, advanced manufacturing by 8.7%, business and IT services by 3.4%, and transportation and logistics by 2.8%

These industries are targeted by the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship, which covers KCTCS tuition for those who enroll in high-demand areas such as health care, business and I.T., advanced manufacturing, construction and transportation/logistics.

“We’re excited to see more Kentuckians from all backgrounds choosing our colleges to invest in their futures, the future of their families, and ultimately in future generations of Kentucky’s workforce,” KCTCS President Ryan Quarles wrote in a statement last week.

SKYCTC enrollment has also steadily increased for students in its dual-credit courses, which are intended for students seeking to earn college credit while in high school, according to the college. Meanwhile, the number of dual-credit high school students who pursue credits SKYCTC after graduation increased by more than one-third – from 367 to 495.

That dual-credit growth is partly due to SKYCTC’s affordability along with its SKY Merit Scholarship and Dual Credit To Finish scholarship, which each provide financial awards for qualifying students, according to the college.

While student retention has "stayed relatively the same," it has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic in part due to a host of retention efforts, KCTCS stated. These efforts, it stated, include a redesigned student orientation, mandatory semesterly advising, the assignment of student ambassadors to new students, as well measures such as its pantry, scholarships and emergency fund.

Also at the state level, according to KCTCS:

• Despite the complications and delay of the U.S. Department of Education’s new FAFSA rollout, KCTCS received 95% of last year’s count of FAFSA applications; KCTCS stated that it had launched a task force to mitigate the rollout's impacts.
• Credential-seeking headcount climbed 7.2%.
• Credit-bearing workforce, non-degree headcount surged 16.4%.
• New student enrollment increased 11%.
• Among new students, credential-seeking enrollment rose 11.9%, while credit-bearing workforce, non-degree students surged 19.8%.
• High school students enrolled in dual classes increased 11.6% – accounting for 23.5% of the enrollment total; the latter figure is expected to make up 35% of KCTCS’s total enrollment by the semester’s end.
• “Nontraditional enrollment,” which includes students at least 25 years old, increased 10.4%, growing to 32% of all enrollment.
• Underrepresented minority enrollment rose 15.8%.
• Enrollment for students who identify as “Black, African American” rose 12.5%
• Students who identify as “Hispanic, Latinx” and as two or more races increased 22.2% and 13.5%, respectively.