Students find their way on the first day of the 2017 fall term.

Monday, September 25 marked the start of the 2017 fall term at Clark College.

While official numbers are not available until after the 10th day of class, the day began with 12,055 students enrolled, slightly down from last year’s Day One enrollment of 12,099. This reflects trends seen throughout the statewide system and through much of the country as well.

Some specific segments saw increases. Enrollment in eLearning (or online) courses grew this year by 18 percent, with more than 4,700 students taking advantage of those courses. Clark College’s Running Start Program also grew again this year by 2 percent to just over 2,100 students, making it the largest Running Start program in the state.

Other highlights for the quarter:

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  Cuisine instructor Aaron Guerra looks ready to start fall term.

  This quarter sees the relaunch of the college’s culinary programs, including Cuisine Management and Professional Baking and Pastry Arts. Students entering the program this quarter will be the first to study in the college’s McClaskey Culinary Institute, which is still in the final stages of construction and is expected to open to the public by the end of 2017. When it opens, it will be the only nonprofit culinary institute within 120 miles. Clark’s Culinary Arts – Cooking/Restaurant Management program was put on hiatus in 2013 in order to modernize the curriculum and facilities. The Culinary Arts – Baking/Bakery Management program was put on hiatus in 2015, when it was determined that the program could not continue running while the culinary facilities were being remodeled.

• The Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management program, which launched January 2017, begins its first full academic year at capacity with 35 students. This is the second bachelor’s degree offered by Clark, and more are expected to be announced by the end of this academic year. In response to strong demand, a second cohort of the BASAM program will launch in January.

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  The BAS in Applied Management program’s newest cohort poses with administrators, faculty, and campus resource specialists during their orientation session.

  The college’s new Rural Access Mechatronics Program (RAMP) launches this quarter, providing opportunities for students in underserved parts of the college’s service district to gain in-demand skills without relocating to urban areas. Made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this two-quarter program allows students to earn a certificate in mechatronics through primarily online classes that require them to come to Clark’s Columbia Tech Center location in East Vancouver on Saturdays only. As with the BAS in Applied Management, this program is at capacity, and faculty are considering adding an additional cohort in winter term.

• The college’s new Penguin Pantry has opened on the college’s main campus, providing students with free food and hygiene supplies, as well as some clothing and school supplies. Almost half of Clark’s student body is classified as lower-income, according to data from the college’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness.

Photos: Campus photos by Clark College/Jennifer Shadley, BAS in Applied Management photo by Clark College/Jennifer Lea.

Monday, September 19 marked the start of the 2016 fall quarter at Clark College. A highlight of opening day was seeing progress on the college’s initiative to encourage more students to attend full-time (12 credits or more). Forty-eight percent of non-Running Start, and 74% of Running Start students, attended Clark full-time. These statistics are important because studies show that students who are enrolled full-time are more likely to graduate and to do so in a shorter amount of time.

While official numbers are not available until after the 10th day of class, the day began with 12,099 students enrolled, statistically even with last year’s enrollment numbers.

While enrollment was flat overall, some specific segments saw increases. Running Start, which allows high school students to earn college credits tuition-free, saw its enrollment rise by 11 percent from its fall 2015 numbers to 2,445 students. Clark College’s Office of Planning & Effectiveness estimates that families of Clark Running Start students saved a combined $7.1 million in college tuition during the previous academic year. Elearning (or online) courses grew this year by 15 percent, with more than 4,400 students taking advantage of those courses.

Other highlights for the quarter:

• This is the first quarter that classes are offered in Clark’s new, state-of-the-art STEM Building, which will have its ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 3.
• This quarter sees a 67% increase from fall 2015 in students enrolled in apprentice programs. Additionally, Clark’s Transitional Studies is offering a new pre-apprenticeship program designed to help adults enter the trades. The one-quarter class costs just $25, making it an accessible entry point for people seeking a new career.
• Students have begun enrolling for prerequisites to prepare for entry into Clark’s new Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management This will be the second bachelor’s degree offered by Clark.

About Clark College

Located in Vancouver’s Central Park and serving up to 12,500 students per quarter, Clark College is Washington State’s second-largest single-campus, for-credit community college. The college currently offers classes at two satellite locations: one on the Washington State University Vancouver campus and one in the Columbia Tech Center in East Vancouver. Additionally, its Economic & Community Development program is housed in the Columbia Bank building in downtown Vancouver.

Students were greeted with sunshine as they started a new academic year on September 21, 2015.

The parking lots were filled. The Bookstore was bustling. And the sunshine poured down as if to comfort those who were still mourning the end of their summers as they started the 2015 fall quarter at Clark College on Monday, September 21.

View of Gaiser Hall from the new STEM Building, currently slated to open in fall 2016.

Returning students got to see how much progress had been made on the college’s new Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) Building, which broke ground last fall and is slated to open in fall 2016. What had been mostly a collection of girders when students left in June has now grown into an imposing presence on Ft. Vancouver Way with walls and roof.

This will not be the only construction students will see on the main campus this year: Gaiser will undergo a remodel in preparation for a significantly restructured and modernized Culinary Arts program, and C-TRAN’s Bus Rapid Transit Project is likely to also bring some minor construction along Ft. Vancouver Way.

While official numbers are not available until after the 10th day of class, the quarter began with 11,187 students enrolled, or 4 percent fewer students than the first day of the 2014 fall quarter. This decrease in enrollment is consistent with numbers throughout the state, as a strengthening economy has softened the enrollment spike seen during the recent recession. Oregon two-year colleges are also experiencing significant decreases in enrollment.

While enrollment declined overall, some specific segments saw increases. Running Start, which allows high school students to earn college credits while still in high school, saw its enrollment rise by 14 percent from its fall 2014 numbers to more than 2,200 students. Elearning (or online) courses grew this year by 5 percent, with more than 3,700 students taking advantage of the flexibility to take online classes at times and places that work for them. The college continued to see slow but steady growth in students of color, up 1 percent compared with fall 2014. Students of color now make up 31 percent of Clark’s student body.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley