Beldin

State technical colleges break 20-year enrollment record

Ailing economy forcing more to explore options

By SCOTT WILLIAMS swilliams@journalsentinel.com, Journal Sentinel

Saturday, October 11, 2003

Overrun by job-seekers trying to find new careers in a turbulent economy, Wisconsin technical colleges have broken a 20-year-old enrollment record.

Enrollment at the 16 colleges totaled 66,800 full-time-equivalent students during the 2002-'03 school year -- the highest level ever recorded on campuses from Kenosha to Superior.

At some of the colleges, officials report interest surging in such career fields as automotive repair, criminal justice and health care.

Chris Beldin gave up a lucrative job as an attorney to enroll in the police academy at Waukesha County Technical College. Although his position in a law firm was not in immediate jeopardy, one thing that made police work appealing during the uncertain economy was job security.

The way Beldin sees it: When was the last time you heard about cops getting laid off?

"Let's put it this way: It's one less thing that you need to worry about," said the 41-year-old Franklin husband and father.

The previous record enrollment for the technical colleges was 64,300 students during the 1982-'83 school year, another period when the U.S. economy was struggling to emerge from a recession.

Students are displaced workers

College administrators said many of the newest students are displaced workers or others exploring new career options as a result of the ailing economy.

"They're trying to retool," said Kyle Schwarm, spokesman for the Wisconsin Technical College System.

The historic enrollment crunch last year brought 642 new full- time-equivalent students to Milwaukee Area Technical College, for a 5% increase, and 145 new students to Waukesha County's campus, for a 4% increase.

Gateway Technical College, which serves Kenosha and Racine, enrolled 461 new full-time-equivalent students, which represents a 10% increase, while Moraine Park Technical College, with a campus in West Bend, welcomed 106 new students, or 4% more than the previous year.

Enrollment is measured in full-time equivalents because many students attend the technical schools on a part-time basis.

Statewide enrollment in the 2001-'02 school year was 63,700.

Enrollment to jump again

Officials project that enrollment during the current school year could jump another 4% to 5%, possibly pushing the number of students to 70,000.

The demand for services comes at a time when the two-year campuses are wrestling with budget constraints stemming from the state's recently resolved $3.2 billion budget deficit. Under a new spending plan signed by Gov. Jim Doyle this summer, funding for the colleges is expected to remain stagnant at $118 million annually for the next two years.

Larry Pasquini, registrar at Moraine Park Technical College, said the record-breaking enrollment is stretching the college's resources.

Moraine Park recorded another 8% enrollment increase this fall, putting the college on pace to break its own record by the end of the school year, with more than 3,000 full-time-equivalent students.

"We're excited and enthused that there are students coming, but there is also the concern about resources," Pasquini said. "It makes it difficult, at best."

At the Waukesha County campus, enrollment has jumped more than 8% this fall to 1,552 full-time-equivalent students, fueled in part by growing interest in the college's auto repair and criminal justice programs.

For the first time in at least 10 years, applications from students pursuing careers in law enforcement surpassed those of students interested in nursing, said Associate Dean Gary Hodorski.

Part of the increase undoubtedly results from the perception that law enforcement is a profession that insulates people from the poor economy, Hodorski said.

"Not only do they see it as a helping profession," he said, "I think they like the security."

At MATC in Milwaukee, nursing remains a strong draw, with enrollment on campus climbing another 1% this fall, to 6,437 full- time equivalents.

MATC spokesman Jim Gribble said the college last year joined the ranks of the 10 institutions in the country awarding the most two- year degrees in health-related fields.

Faced with such demand for services, some colleges elsewhere in the country have imposed enrollment caps. But no such response is being discussed for Wisconsin's technical schools.

Schwarm said administrators at the system's Madison headquarters are comfortable that layoffs and other budget cuts will make it possible to keep pace with enrollment.

"It's a lot of careful fiscal management," he said.

Gribble said the schools should not consider restricting enrollment when they are needed to help revive the economy.

He added: "We feel that we're part of the solution."

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