The Kentucky Community and Technical College System says it expects to welcome more than 85,000 students to its campuses this fall, which the system says is an 8.4 percent increase from last year and will set a 10-year record.
Elizabethtown Community and Technical College President and CEO Dr. Juston Pate says ECTC has also seen substantial growth.
“The college has really had a record period of growth since 2017,” Pate said. “Our graduation rate has gone from 31 percent to a little over 57 percent.”
KCTCS says the system has seen growth across all student classifications. New student enrollment is up 11 percent, credential-seeking enrollment is up 11.9 percent, and high school students taking dual credit courses is up 11.6 percent.
Pate says more and more people are recognizing that a community college education can be more than just a cost-saving measure.
“The real value is the quality of the education, and the people who chose to teach at a community college because they wanted to teach,” Pate said. “They didn’t want to do research. They didn’t want to publish papers. They want to be with students. That, to me, is what’s reflected when you start looking at the way ECTC has increased its student success. We’ve got to where now the number of students who are passing all of their classes in the first semester is, I think it’s almost like 80 percent. That’s unheard of.”
KCTCS expects to enroll about 112,000 students by the end of the 2024-2025 school year in either an associate program designed to transfer to a four-year university or one of 104 technical programs.
In addition to expanding programming, KCTCS campuses have focused on assisting students with barriers to education, such as ECTC’s work with Family Scholar House.
“I think all of these things have just really led us to meet students where they are, help them overcome the barriers they’re facing, and getting them the skills and the education, the training they need to go out and get that career that’s going to change their lives and their families’ lives,” Pate said.
Visit the KCTCS website for more information on enrollment numbers, and visit ECTC’s website for more information on classes and program offerings.
