GREAT FALLS — A couple of years ago, Great Falls College's enrollment was declining, and now it's back up to some of the highest it's been. For the second straight semester, enrollment is up for Great Falls College, MSU.
They're currently up about 10% from last year. According to census data, they have 1,362 students on campus, about 100 more than last year, when they had 1,256 students.
College CEO and dean Stephanie Erdmann became the dean two years ago when numbers were down, and said she's seen lots of growth from the college, aside from enrollment going up.
"We are really making a conscious effort to bring in programing that are high demand, high wage career opportunities for folks to partner with our four year institutions across the state so that people can start here and transfer anywhere," Erdmann said. "We're really wanting to engage in the community and show that Great Falls College is a wonderful value and an awesome asset to Great Falls."
Many of the students are from close by, with a majority of them being from Cascade County or neighboring counties. For students like Aaron Benson, being close to home and centrally located was a big factor in picking where they wanted to go to college.
"The staff here, they're very helpful. There's a free tutoring center I'm so glad that they have," Benson said. "The teachers, they're off the clock ready to help you. And they're there any time you need to get a hold of them, you email them. They're right there to answer right back and they're pretty supportive. I was raised here. I'm comfortable here. I know a lot of people. I know the culture. So it was an easy decision."
Great Falls College also has its semesters divided into two blocks, with the second block at spring semester starting March 13th.
Questions or comments about this article? Click here to contact Asher.
TRENDING
- Great Falls teen shot, suspect caught
- Armed MT protester raises some eyebrows
- Retired GFPD officer is fighting cancer
- Recent obituaries on KRTV
FOLLOW KRTV
