Spring Enrollment is 2,706 with High Student Persistence
Guilford College has a total headcount of 2,706 for the spring semester, 155 students above the number anticipated in the 2010-11 College budget. The figure includes 1,321 traditional students, 1,290 adults and 95 students in The Early College at Guilford who are enrolled in College courses. Enrollment numbers were official Feb. 1.
A record number of adults returned from the fall 2010 semester, 1,036. The adult spring headcount is the second highest ever for any semester.
Additionally, 63 percent of adult students are enrolled full time. Adult students average more than 11 credits each, which will allow them to graduate faster, says Dean for Continuing Education Rita Serotkin.
“The way Guilford’s schedule is set up, it’s possible to take a full course load attending just two nights a week,” Serotkin said. “That flexibility allows an adult student to finish his or her degree as quickly as a traditional student would with day classes. Our students are able to fit college into their lives.”
The fall-to-spring persistence rate was 92 percent for traditional students and 84 percent for adults. This continues a trend of improved persistence for both traditional and adult students.
That improvement is largely due to increased focus on student success, says Vice President for Enrollment Randy Doss. About 70 traditional students take part each year in the Student Success Program and are paired with peer mentors to help ease their transition to college. On average, 96 percent of those students stay at Guilford after their first year.
The Center for Continuing Education began an adult student mentoring program in 2007 and last year received a grant from Wal-Mart and the Council of Independent Colleges to fund programs for first-generation adult college students.
“While Guilford’s flexibility and unique academic programs continue to attract new students, we also focus on serving the students who are already here,” Doss said.
Feb. 2, 2011
