NWCC Announces Nine Semesters of Continued Enrollment Growth

by Sarah Smith

Senatobia, MS (09/24/2024) — Northwest Mississippi Community College officials announced that the college has experienced its ninth consecutive semester of enrollment growth.

Elated by this announcement, Northwest President, Dr. Michael J. Heindl, said this is an exciting time for the college and places Northwest as the third largest community college in the state of Mississippi.

"I would attribute the enrollment growth at the college over the last several years to the work our staff and faculty have been doing in chasing the vision of the college, which is to 'transform student lives, enrich our local communities and strive for excellence in our educational programs and services,'" Dr. Heindl said. "When everyone becomes focused on the student experience and student success, it is a win-win for our students, the college and our local communities. Northwest has grown 20 percent in enrollment in the last four years, and it is also attributable in part to the college adding new programs, services, partnerships, campuses, residence halls, and sports in that time period. We look forward to continuing the work of serving the needs of our local communities, businesses and industries by providing the best opportunities for our students."

This enrollment increase includes students who are traditional full-time students, dual enrollment students, Scholastic Institute, and part-time students. Dr. Heindl heavily encourages students who have been studying with Northwest to stay with Northwest to finish their associate degree before transferring to their respective universities.

Vice President of Enrollment and Student Services Dr. Tonyalle Rush, who leads the college's teams in student services and enrollment management, is excited about enrollment growth. She says this is all thanks to the hardworking teams that work daily to help students with their career or educational goals.

"It is truly our honor daily to come in and to work with our students," said Dr. Rush. "Our goal here at the college is our students' personal success. From when they enter college through graduation and beyond, that's our goal here. I believe our work to increase our student customer service has played a large role in the recent enrollment increases."

This comes after the opening of Lamar Hall, the college's newest residence hall. Dr. Rush said this adds 72 additional beds for more students to live on campus and participate in the many campus events provided by campus life, athletics, and other campus organizations.

"The recent enrollment increases validate the work the institution has been doing to add programs that are valuable and desirable to students," said Dr. Matthew Domas, vice president for instruction. "The addition of new career-technical education certificate and degree programs are a significant part of our four-year growth model."

The Mississippi Community College Board recently released its annual fall semester ten-day enrollment report, showing Northwest's increasing enrollment of 4.7% at 7,824 students. This makes NWCC the third-largest community college in the state and sixth in enrollment among all Mississippi's public and private colleges and universities.

"Northwest has grown by 1,300 students in the last four years," Dr. Andrew Dale, associate vice president of community relations. "No other community college in the state has had that kind of student headcount growth in the same period. The institution is positioned to continue that growth into the future."

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