Community Colleges Seeing Big Gains In Enrollment

Some area community colleges are reporting increased enrollment for the coming semester, among them Durham Tech and Wake Tech. Numbers for Wake Tech Community College are already over 20-thousand with a few days left to register. Wake Tech President Stephen Scott credits the steadily-improving economy to the a surge in enrollment along with class affordability and quality in the programs. Placement, he adds, is nearly 100 percent in many fields of study including medical, IT, and engineering. Scott says part of the success may be due to how the college looks at a technical education.

Stephen Scott: They're there to go to work to help their employers become profitable. That's what we preach to them that when you're doing the interview, you need to tell the employer how how you can help them sell more or reduce their costs so they can afford to hire you.

Scott says there's already a waiting list of 5-thousand students. There are no spots in classes before 2 in the afternoon.