Fall enrollment at MAC should reach 4,000

PARK HILLS, MO (KRCU) - Enrollment at Mineral Area College this fall is set to stay on course with numbers the college had last year.

So far, nearly 3,700 students are enrolled at MAC. That number is expected to increase to 4,000 after more dual-credit students enroll and when second eight-week classes begin.

Jean Merrill-Doss is Mineral Area College’s Dean of Student Services. She says the last few years have brought some of the highest enrollment numbers in Mineral Area’s history.

"There’s that magic trend when the economy goes south, enrollment goes north," Merrill-Doss says. "With education, because more people come back and try to get additional training when they can’t find jobs, so they go to college, and there’s lot of training money available. A lot of young students, coming out of high school, with the economy in bad shape, may end up coming to a community college rather than a four-year school because of costs.”

Merrill-Doss says there has been a strong uptick towards short-term technical training, such as their truck driver school.

The College will have more detailed demographic data about their Fall 2011 students within the next couple of weeks.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

Posted in: higher education,Jean Merrill-Doss,Mineral Area College