BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
TRAVERSE CITY — Charles Redburn sat at a computer monitor near the bookstore at Northwestern Michigan College, an eye to his fall schedule and which textbooks he needs before classes begin.
Redburn, 42, of Frankfort, is back at school after being laid off from his automotive industry job. He's among a growing student population at Traverse City's community college — NMC has witnessed seven consecutive semesters with enrollment spikes, including the one that begins today.
Redburn believes Michigan's lousy economy is driving many people like him back to college in an effort to find more secure careers. He's about to begin his third semester at NMC and is studying respiratory therapy.
"There's a future in it," he said.
NMC's fall 2010 enrollment is up 8 percent over last fall with 5,418 students registered as of last week. That figure is expected to climb as some enroll at the last minute.
Other important statistics include a 7 percent increase in new NMC students and a 12 percent rise in students retained from the spring semester, said Jim Bensley, admissions director.
"That signifies that students are still choosing NMC over more expensive institutions in the state," he said.
Also, a growing number of NMC students are qualifying for grants and loans, particularly the federal, need-based Pell grant program that doesn't require repayment.
"It speaks volumes to the state of the economy. It saddens me that so many of our students have Pell eligibility because that means they're likely unemployed or their financial circumstances have recently changed so dramatically," said Pamela Palermo, financial aid director. "On the other hand, they are choosing a good path."
College officials hired 45 additional adjunct faculty members for the coming semester to handle increased student enrollment and demand for course sections. Ten of those will teach in the Communications Department alone.
"Here's a staggering number: We now offer 79 sections of freshman composition. That's up by eight from last fall," said Deirdre Mahoney, department chairwoman.
More core classes are being scheduled at the Aero Park and University Center campuses, and some college business offices are relocated there to free up space for additional faculty on the main campus.
Brennen Batchelor, 21, of Beulah, started classes at NMC two years ago and continues there because it's local and less expensive than four-year universities. He may transfer to another institution to complete his business degree, but for now he's taking professional communications, business mathematics and accounting at NMC.
Batchelor said he's noticed "more and more" students filling classrooms and parking spaces.
"Parking is bad. It's OK if you get here early, but by 11 a.m. it gets bad," he said.
That's why college officials spread gravel across the center-of-campus softball field, a one-year fix to create an additional 300 temporary parking spaces. That cost NMC $38,000, in addition to the 163 overflow spaces rented from the Grand Traverse County Civic Center for $10 per month for each space, said Paul Heaton, college spokesman.
NMC's official head count day will be on Sept. 7.
