Published: June 30, 2009 07:10 am      

NMC enrollment spikes 17 percent

Classrooms and parking lots at school are full

TRAVERSE CITY -- Whitney Stratton took a stab at being a professional dancer, but she needed to find a more financially and physically stable career.

She'd always wanted a career in health care, so Stratton began to look into various nursing programs.

Her search encompassed more than 12 schools both in and out of Michigan, but she ended up at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City.

Stratton has plenty of company. NMC's summer and fall enrollment jumped nearly 17 percent.

"People are looking for retraining," college spokesman Paul Heaton said. "People are increasingly seeing the value of an NMC education."

Larger enrollment means making accommodations, everything from parking to classroom congestion.

"I choose earlier classes because I know I'll get (parking) spots," Stratton said.

Students also notice crowded classrooms.

"The class I'm in is full," said Fred Otieno, a native of Kenya who has been in NMC's Maritime Academy the past five years. "And I come here early, so I won't have to park three blocks away."

Michigan's sagging economy certainly played a role in NMC's swollen enrollment, officials said.

"We've noticed that our demographic increase is in both the traditional age student, 18-20 years old, and those over 35," admissions director Jim Bensley said.

Traditional students choose NMC to save money before moving on to a university setting, he said. Those over 35 are returning to school for additional training, an effort to make themselves more marketable.

"There are a lot of older people in my classes," said Stratton. "They've either lost a job or want to go into a field they know they can find a job in."

The economy pushed Maple City resident Hazel Flaska back to school.

Flaska must complete pre-requisite classes, but then federal No Worker Left Behind Act money will pay for her Licensed Practical Nurse degree.

"My son is now 20; it was an empty-nest kind of thing," said Flaska. "No Worker Left Behind was definitely an incentive."

NMC programs to witness the most growth: nursing, culinary arts, law enforcement, and the Maritime Academy, Bensley said.