Carroll Community College
Spring 2005, No. 19



Contents

Carroll is Fastest-growing Community College in Maryland over Past Five Years

Dr. Pappalardo Named One of Maryland’s Top 100 Women

Carroll Installs Life-Saving Devices throughout Campus

Spring Enrollment at Record High

Recent Institutional Research Reports

College to Host Open House Tuesday May 3rd

Student Profile: Michelle Shrader

Info

 

Carroll is Fastest-growing Community College in Maryland over Past Five Years

Full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment at Carroll Community College grew 44 percent over the FY1999-FY2004 period. FTE growth among all sixteen Maryland community colleges was less than 18 percent over the same period. Carroll’s FTE enrollment grew 2.5 times as fast as community colleges statewide.

Carroll had the greatest rate of FTE growth among Maryland community colleges. Wor-Wic Community College was a close second, growing 43 percent. Only three other colleges had FTE growth above 30 percent: Baltimore City (35 percent), Howard (31), and Cecil (31).

Full-time-equivalent is a measure of enrollment that allows the inclusion of credit and noncredit enrollment, aggregated across all terms in a year. Total FTE enrollment is a comprehensive measure of the total instructional activity occurring at a college. FTEs are used in the state funding formula for community colleges for these reasons.

Full-time-equivalents convert part-time student attendance into its equivalent in full-time students. There are a number of different formulas for calculating FTEs. The basic concept starts from the idea that a full-time credit student would enroll in ten courses during a year. Assuming the typical three credits per course, this equates to 30 credits annually. So one formula for calculating FTE is to take total credit hours and divide by 30.

A three-credit course traditionally met for three hours a week for 15 weeks, for a total of 45 hours. Ten three-credit courses would meet a total of 450 hours. So another way of looking at an FTE is to equate it to 450 hours of instructional time. This is how an FTE is calculated for noncredit courses.

Why has Carroll Community College had the greatest rate of growth in full-time-equivalent enrollment among Maryland’s 16 community colleges the past five years? Qualitative focus group and quantitative research data suggest the following factors have contributed to this growth:

  • The excellent learning experience provided by Carroll faculty
  • A growing county population, particularly among residents age 15 to 24
  • Citizen recognition of the value of a community college education—Carroll is half the cost of the least expensive alternative, due to taxpayer support and its cost-efficient operations
  • A clean, well-maintained, and friendly campus
  • An increase in younger students who tend to enroll full-time
  • An increase in the number of women going
    to college
  • Introduction of new programs in teacher education and nursing that respond to local and regional employment demand
  • Increased retention of both full- and part-time students
  • Excellent relationship with the Carroll County Public Schools
  • Increase in noncredit lifelong learning, personal enrichment course enrollments
  • Improved outreach and marketing

Congratulations to all who have contributed to this success!

Percent Growth in FTE Enrollment, FY1999-FY2004

College
Total FTEs FY1999 Total FTEs FY2004

Percent Growth FY1999-FY2004

Carroll
1,636 2,363 44.4
Wor-Wic
1,692 2,420 43.0
Baltimore City
4,892 6,586 34.6
Howard
3,681 4,838 31.4
Cecil
1,080 1,413 30.8
Southern Maryland
3,384 4,365 29.0
Chesapeake
1,612 2,063 28.0
Anne Arundel
9,571 11,692 22.2
Hagerstown
1,895 2,281 20.4
Frederick
2,588 3,090 19.4
Allegany
1,447 1,673 15.6
Montgomery
12,255 14,059 14.7
Harford
3,629 4,150 14.4
Prince George’s
8,991 9,831 9.3
Garrett
476 509 6.9
Baltimore County
15,558 16,157 3.9
Statewide 74,387 87,490 17.6

Carroll was well represented at Community College Advocacy Day in Annapolis. Pictured in the front row: Cheryl Turco, Melissa Stickles, Dawn White, Jennifer Eikenberg, Dr. Pappalardo, Louise Margio, Michelle Shrader, Jeana Biondo, and Jennifer Judge. Back row: Robert DeBaufre, Eli Geise, PJ Ward-Brown, Steve Barnett, Vanessa Shaw, and Scott Fairley.

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