Pellissippi State named one of fastest-growing colleges

Pellissippi State has been named one of the 200 fastest-growing community colleges in the nation, according to Community College Week, an independent news publication for educators.

The College was ranked 28th for schools with 5,000 to 9,999 credit enrollment by the National Center for Education Statistics, the publication reports. Fall 2005 credit enrollment for the school was reported to be 7,686. Fall 2006 credit enrollment was listed as 8,257—a one-year increase of 7.4 percent.

NCES, a division of the U.S. Department of Education, has been collecting data for the annual Fall Enrollment Survey since 2001. The center calls for fall semester enrollment numbers from more than 7,000 postsecondary institutions.

Institutions are required to report “all students enrolled in courses creditable toward a diploma, certificate, degree or other formal award.” The schools are divided into four categories: less than 2,500 students; 2,500 to 4,999; 5,000 to 9,999; and 10,000-plus.

Community College Week has been publishing the data since NCES ranking began. During that time, overall enrollment among public two- and four-year “associate’s colleges” has increased by 7.4 percent, from six million to 6.5 million students. The number of such institutions, on the other hand, has increased by only 1.8 percent, from 1,160 to 1,181.

Motlow State Community College in Lynchburg, Jackson State Community College and Northeast State Technical Community College in Blountville also ranked in the top 200.

For more information on the analysis, visit Community College Week at www.ccweek.com.