NWC deals with drop in enrollment

By Jacey Lucus

Trail Staff Writer

Officials held their breath as final enrollment numbers came in last Wednesday night Sept. 7.

Vice President of Student Affairs Dana Young presumed the numbers would be down and she was right. Compared to the fall of 2004, Northwest College enrollment decreased by 134 students. The total head count went from 1,780 to 1,646 students, which is not exactly what NWC is looking for.

When asked for comments on the matter, Registrar/Director of Admissions Brad Hammond and Young only wonder: Why are students not here? Many reasons have led to this drop in enrollment, but Young offers a theory. “Right now we’re up against the oil fields paying $18 an hour to students right out of high school.” How can Northwest College compete with that? Well one way is recruiting.

“Everyone’s ready to fix it. They’re great at pulling together in tough times,” Young said of the recruiting team. If Northwest shows students the benefits of attending college, hopefully they will choose school over jumping into the workforce.

They are also planning to tackle other areas where numbers are down. One big drop was the category of non-degree-seeking females. This category consists of women well into a career, perhaps just taking classes to get ahead. Hammond and Young are looking into the idea that one of the reasons may be that high gas prices has inhibited travel from other towns to Powell. After a survey from the community, they hope to clear up these dilemmas.

Their main goal is to get numbers up. “Our biggest goal, however,” said Young, “is to better educate the community as a whole.” Even if Northwest College enrollment is down, staff members are keeping a positive attitude about it, and doing everything they can to raise numbers once again.