LMC enrollment spikes mean better educated workforce

Enrollment is up and so is the number of graduates at Lake Michigan College. The 2009-10 academic year, which ended June 30, set records for the community college with growth at all of its four locations.

Student enrollment jumped 16.7 percent over the previous year.
 
LMC recorded the second highest enrollment growth rate among Michigan’s 28 community colleges.

During the fall of 2009, when enrollment stood at 4,690, there was a gain of 18.8 percent over the previous fall semester. The College’s winter semester enrollment came in at 4,696, a 22 percent increase over the previous winter semester and the largest semester ever at LMC.
 
“For the first time in Lake Michigan College’s 63-year history, we delivered more than 100,000 contact hours of instruction during an academic year, a 25 percent increase over the previous year,” says LMC President Dr. Robert Harrison.

The increase can be attributed to students of all ages who understand a college education is essential for marketability in today’s challenging job environment, Harrison says
 
It also means a higher percentage of residents now will have college credentials to present to prospective employers, he adds.
 
“In the long-run, having a better educated workforce positions this region favorably when companies look for places to expand their businesses as the economy rebounds,” Harrison says. “It is our mission to provide the programs that will help position our region and our residents for success.”

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Robert Harrison, Lake Michigan College