ELLISVILLE – As Jones College students finish their second week of classes, administrators are seeing some programs are at capacity as enrollment rises to new records for the first time in nine years. Jones College President, Dr. Jesse Smith said enrollment numbers have spiked because of a concerted effort in overcoming the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic and issues with FAFSA, the federal financial aid application process.
“We chose a different approach this fall by simplifying the process and reducing our tuition as much as possible,” explained Smith. “We may be one of the few colleges in America that has actually reduced the overall cost to attend college by offering one price for full time students and one price for part time students. There are no fees, nothing. No parking fees, registration fees, lab fees, nothing, which makes it easier for families to understand and get on board.”
According to the enrollment numbers on the fifth day of classes, 4,936 students were in class which is an increase of 8.06 percent from fall 2023. That is an increase of 368 students compared to the previous year. The number of semester credit hours has also increased by 5.74 percent with 62,006 compared to the fall of 2023 with 58,638 credit hours. The biggest increases can be found in the career and technical education (CTE) programs with an increase of 12.73 percent in the number of students taking these courses and an increase of 16.73 percent in the number of CTE semester credit hours.
“We attribute a lot of this to the fact the spotlight has been on career and technical trades nationwide and the impact of the skills gap in this country and in the state. More people are seeing value in career and technical education and are enrolling in more programs,” said VP of Instruction, Rod Tolbert.
Seventeen of the 31 CTE programs are completely full, and the biggest increase of all the CTE programs at 26 percent can be found in the Industrial Services programs at Jones College. Especially popular are the welding, heating and air conditioning, diesel mechanics, and the utility lineman programs.
“Our goal this fall was to fill as many of these programs as we could because employers are telling us they need these employees,” Tolbert said. “We’re trying desperately to help meet these demands and we’ve made some pretty big strides with our Career Services department and connecting employers with our teachers and making sure our students begin with the end in mind when they enroll. We’re looking at employment opportunities from day one.”
Enrollment continues until Friday, August 30, at Jones College. To enroll in online courses or short-term courses contact the Jones College Enrollment Management Office at 601-477-4257 and for more information click on the website: https://www.jcjc.edu/