WCC kicks off academic year
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on August 18, 2017 12:10 PM
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Andrew Kearney waits to have a photo taken for his Wayne Community College student ID card Thursday before going to class.
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Sherina Grandy purchases a disc that contains her math homework and tests at the Wayne Community College bookstore Thursday on the first day of classes.
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Students walk by the clock going to and from class Thursday morning at Wayne Community Class on the first day of the fall semester.
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Dr. Thomas Walker Jr. greets Elvia Morales and Leticia Lara, Career and College Promise students from Southern Wayne High School, in the lobby of the Wayne Learning Center Thursday on the first day of class.
Wayne Community College kicked off another academic year on Thursday, with a preliminary head count of 3,257 -- just shy of the 3,312 enrollment for the same point last fall.
Officials said they expect the numbers to climb with registration extended until noon today and another registration for 12-week courses and "Fall II" eight-week courses that begin in mid-September and mid-October, respectively.
The college reached its enrollment peak of 4,031 in the fall of 2013 but dropped the next fall. It has held steady during the last two years.
WCC has been looking at ways to offer programs potential students need when they can get to them, says President Dr. Thomas Walker Jr. He cited such examples as aviation maintenance and autobody repair classes, which will be held in the evenings and online, as well as hybrid-format eight-week business courses as examples of providing convenient options.
"There are a good deal of working poor in this county who want to improve their lives but can't use traditional 16-week class schedules," Walker said.
Students who sign up for classes through Friday must pay at the time of registration.
For those who cannot pay the full amount at this time, the college's payment plan is still an option. The deadline to enroll in that plan, which offers installment options with no interest charges, has been extended to noon on Friday, also. Details are at www.mycollegepaymentplan.com/waynecc.