WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Community Colleges Enjoy Record Enrollment
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Burlington, Vermont - September 9, 2008
A celebration in Winooski, where the Community College of Vermont is moving it's Chittenden County campus from downtown Burlington to the Onion City.
"Our enrollment has grown nearly 60 percent since 2000. This is unprecedented in our business," said Tim Donovan, President of the Community College of Vermont.
Today, CCV has 6,200 students spread out across 12 campuses. The Burlington campus is the biggest and is growing the fastest.
"If anybody walks through our building in the morning, afternoon, or evening, it's pretty much bursting at the seams," said Joyce Judy, CCV Provost.
And that mirrors a nationwide trend at many two-year schools. Officials at CCV credit the faltering economy. They say students are looking for a cheaper alternative to four-year colleges.
Online courses are seeing the largest growth.
"I think it's probably a good guess that people are figuring gosh, if I take an online course over the course of a semester I could be saving a couple hundred bucks in gas, in childcare," said Eric Sakai, CCV Director of Learning Technologies.
CCV student Anne Orr said, "The cost is a big factor. CCV is a lot less expensive."
Tuition at CCV costs $191 per credit for Vermont students. That's less than half the amount UVM charges.
"The worst feeling in the world is you graduate from high school, you're on a high, and you get into debt," said Patrick Tracy, a student.
Not only is CCV cheaper than most other schools in the region, it also offers a prior learning course that rewards students who have work experience with college credit.
"For 20 years I was out in the workforce, and I had all these life experiences and so they gave me 26 credits," Orr said.
It's just one of the many ways students are attempting to save as the cost of education continues to rise amidst a struggling economy.
The new 65,000 square foot campus in Winooski is scheduled to open in 2010.
Keagan Harsha - WCAX News
