Spartanburg Community College is Named One of the Fastest-Growing Community College in U.S.
December 8, 2010
SPARTANBURG, SC – December 8, 2010 – Spartanburg Community College is one of the fastest-growing colleges in the nation, according to Community College Week. Based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, SCC’s enrollment grew from 4,701 to 5,713 students from fall 2008 to fall 2009. The College’s enrollment increase of 22 percent earned it the honor of 15th fastest growing among approximately 249 community colleges in the nation with enrollments ranging from 5,000 to 9,999.
“The national recession has driven younger students to community colleges because our tuition is more affordable than that of four-year colleges and universities,” said Para M. Jones, Ph.D., president of Spartanburg Community College (SCC). “The result is that the average age of our students has gone down from approximately 28 to 26 years of age.
“Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties lag the state and South Carolina lags the nation in the number of people with postsecondary degrees, largely because of the textile and industrial jobs available in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s,” Dr. Jones pointed out. “But the economy has changed and people know they need at least an associate degree to get and keep good jobs.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2010) reports that 60 percent of jobs today and in the future require at least an associate’s degree. Spartanburg County, the state and nation have ambitious goals of educating more Americans by 2020 to improve our nation’s ranking of 12th in the world in education attainment.
“For decades, the U.S. was No. 1 in the world in education attainment but we are falling behind and that is not acceptable,” Dr. Jones pointed out. “That means that not only do we need to educate more students coming directly out of high school, but we need to encourage more adults to come back to college for certificates, diplomas and associate degrees that lead to high-growth, high-demand careers.
“SCC is the ideal learning environment for adults returning to college because we offer a full schedule of day, evening and even weekend classes at convenient locations in Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union Counties,” she added.
SCC provides convenient, affordable and transferable educational opportunities to Upstate residents as well as to resident across the nation through online course options. SCCOnline offers more than 100 online courses as well as complete online associate degree and certificate programs of study. For more information on all SCC offerings, visit the SCC website at www.sccsc.edu/academics.
Registration for spring 2011 classes is currently underway at all SCC locations. The SCC central campus in Spartanburg will hold open registration on January 4-5 from 8:30 am-7:00 pm and on January 6-7 from 8:30 am-5:00 pm in the Commissioners’ Dining Room in the Dan L. Terhune Student Services Building. The SCC Tyger River Campus in Duncan will also hold open registration on January 4 from 9:00 am-7:00 pm in the Tyger River Building. The SCC Cherokee County Campus in Gaffney will hold open registration on December 14 from 9:00 am-6:00 pm in the Harvey S. Peeler, Jr. Academic Building. Residents in Union County may register for SCC classes at the Union County Advanced Technology Center on December 15 from 9:00 am-1:00 pm.
For more information on SCC programs and registering for classes, contact the SCC Admissions Center at (864) 592-4800, toll-free (866) 591-3700, or online at www.sccsc.edu.
About Spartanburg Community College.
SCC offers more than 80 academic programs of study including associate degrees, diplomas and certificates plus University Transfer opportunities to four-year universities. SCC provides flexible class scheduling including online classes through SCCOnline, FlexStart classes, evening classes and more. The College also offers non-credit classes through the SCC Corporate & Community Education Division. For more information visit www.sccsc.edu.
About Community College Week.
Since 1988, Community College Week has been the independent source of in-depth information and news for and about the nation’s community, junior, and technical colleges. Published biweekly, Community College Week’s readers include college presidents, trustees, chief academic officers, faculty, student-service professionals, librarians and other educators. In each edition, readers find news and features not provided by other news sources, including analyses of critical academic trends and issues, vital statistics, technology updates and employment opportunities. For more information visit www.ccweek.com.
