Coahoma Community College News July 28, 2010 CCC Fall Enrollment May Skyrocket to 3,000 CLARKSDALE - Fall enrollment at Coahoma Community College may skyrocket to 3,000, and set the school's second consecutive registration record, agree many CCC administrators including President Vivian Presley. "Registering last fall were nearly 2,700 students which represented a 16 percent jump in enrollment," commented Dr. Presley this week. She said this year's summer school registration has also been the highest in history, and the recent July 8-9 orientation for incoming freshmen and their parents topped 350. "In today's economic climate with companies downsizing and closing, Mississippians realize the importance of education," Dr. Presley said. Many are turning to professional careers vital to personal and community welfare; others are retraining and updating qualifications in their fields, she said. Anne-Shelton Clark, vice president of Career Technical Education, reports large increases in several programs including culinary arts, cosmetology, business and office technology, welding, and carpentry. Her division is also adding a course in brick block and stone masonry this fall to meet needs of business and industry in Bolivar, Coahoma, and Tunica counties. Clark says these graduates will earn starting wages of $15 per hour. "Chef Robert Rhymes was inundated with 110 culinary students this year," Clark continued. "We added JoAnne Hoskins, a culinary graduate, as his assistant, and alternate 'chef for the day' duties among second-year students." She said carpentry classes taught by instructor Larry Barrett were packed with 139 students. While administrators at Coahoma and the state's other 14 community colleges welcome increased enrollment and expanded community service, they are facing budget cuts and reduced funds, according to Dr. Presley. "Coahoma's state appropriation for FY 2010 was cut 7.4 percent or $568,144," says Deborah McNeal, CCC vice president of financial affairs. To make ends meet, no-frills, cost-cutting measures have been a way of life at CCC, says McNeal. A tuition increase that falls far below costs at senior colleges and universities, is being instituted this fall, according to McNeal. Tuition and fees for full-time day students in FY 2010 was $850 per semester, and is increasing to $950 per semester, she says. Matriculation fees for part-time students per semester credit hour was $90.00 in FY 2010, and will increase to $100 per credit hour. Kicking off the fall semester is registration for students attending evening classes on Saturday, August 7. Although Coahoma offers night classes in nine locations: Charleston, Webb, Marks, Mound Bayou, Rosedale, Shaw, Tunica and two sites in Clarksdale, all registration for evening classes will take place in the Marion Reid Gym on CCC's main campus from 8:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7. Night class registration will also continue one day during general registration on Wednesday, August 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Pinnacle. Registration for day classes in the Pinnacle continues through Friday, August 13, and afterward moves to the First Floor of the Dickerson-Johnson Library. Registration for online courses is ongoing and closes August 20. For general registration information, contact Wanda Holmes, registrar, at 662-621-4205. For information about night class offerings, contact Cynthia Williams, outreach director, at 662-621-4126 or view CCC's website: www.coahomacc.edu<http://www.coahomacc.edu/>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Program Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org www.hbculibraries.org 404.592.4820 1438 West Peachtree Street NW Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (Lyrasis) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/meeting-form.html for the October 24-26, 2010 HBCU Library Alliance 4th Membership Meeting and the "Conference on Advocacy" pre-conference in Montgomery, AL. The Pre-Conference and Membership meeting are open to directors and other librarians.