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Contact:
Office of the President – 208/792-2216
Enrollment Up as Classes Begin
LEWISTON—The new day President Dene Thomas
spoke of during her investiture is materializing, as new and returning
students crowd LCSC’s beautiful campus, new programs are unveiled and
offerings geared for student success take shape. The new scholarship fund
unveiled at her investiture—designed to provide new opportunities for more
students to attend college—is growing, right along with the numbers of
students it is intended help.
For the second year in a row, the number of students at U.S. News and World
Report’s 2001 best Northwest public, four-year liberal arts college is up.
Although it’s still early, figures from the first day are indicating a 5%
increase over last year. And the number of applications still in the queue
could send that number even higher.
Thomas noted that a good part of last year’s jump in numbers came after
classes started. “There’s still quite a lot that can happen between the
first day of class and the time our ten-day numbers are finalized,” she
said. “Student registrations continue to be processed and the number of
people in classrooms is not always the number you see on paper the first
day.”
Thomas is hopeful the increase will continue through the important ten-day
marker. The ten-day numbers are eagerly awaited each semester as a
first-line indicator of student population. The totals are calculated at
that time in recognition of the fact that students add and drop classes into
the second week of the semester. The college supplies these number to the
Idaho State Board of Education in its fall report.
The figure is commonly associated with the level of state funding an
institution receives. However, Thomas pointed out that, while the ten-day
numbers are crucial, the college's budget is actually determined by
end-of-semester student numbers. "The state will use those figures when it
considers LCSC's funding," she said.
In any case, increased student enrollment is something to cheer about. This
year, following months of strenuous planning and difficult decisions related
to budget issues, the news is especially welcome. “It certainly confirms
that higher education is still a priority, a top value in the minds of Idaho
citizens,” Thomas said. “People still look to higher education for the means
to change their lives.”
State budget concerns aside, Thomas is hopeful for the future and stated her
conviction in her inaugural address. Her remarks focused on hope, promise
and continued forward momentum. Despite the hard economic times facing
higher education institutions in the State of Idaho, Thomas reiterated her
belief that LCSC has a bright future, that its employees, students and
supporters working together can weather the difficulties and “come out on
top.” She created the new Investiture Scholarship Fund in that spirit,
designing it as another means for student to access education. She hopes the
fund will quickly attain endowed status and, in addition to being its
creator, is a major contributor.
With the numbers and the students still coming in, Thomas’ new day is
shaping up—right along with the new opportunities available to those
students crisscrossing the LCSC campus, shaping their own new days.
For information on 2001-02 enrollment:
http://www.lcsc.edu/collegeinfo/nr/nr-fall%2001%20enrollment%20up.htm.
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