The campus is growing at a rapid pace. This year, the projected 2 percent increase of student enrollment more than doubled. Enrollment increased by 4.4 percent, or 206 more students than last year.
The increase of students is affecting NIC in ways that were not a major problem in previous years, mentioned Eric Murray, vice president of Student Services.
Students with classes in the later parts of the morning are finding it difficult to locate a parking space. When trying to get to class, the lack of parking has become a nuisance for many.
“I’ve never had such a hard time finding parking before,” said April Dunn, 40, a sophomore majoring in graphic design.
The dorms, which house up to 200 students, were filled by June. Generally the dorms do not fill until the beginning of August, Murray said. Though a long waiting list was kept, only a few students on the list got in the dorms. Many had to find housing elsewhere. Students attending NIC that are not from the area are having a hard time finding places to live.
Math and English classes have been added to accommodate the new students and classes which were not filled were dropped. More classes mean more instructors are required.
These issues aside, Murray said there are “no negatives” regarding the increase of students, only positives.
An evaluation of the student body shows that students are taking larger credit loads than they have in past school years.
The total Full Time Equivalent (FTE) average is what determines how much money NIC gets from the state of Idaho. The number is determined by taking the number of credits students take divided by 15. The FTE increased by 4.5 percent.
NIC encourages people to continue their education by going to college. Counselors are sent to different schools in the area, which allows students the availability to talk to someone about their school options, Murray said. The increase has proven the positive effect on those being reached.
While the reason for the large increase in enrollment is not known for certain, Murray mentioned a couple of ideas. He explained that the economy likely has an effect.
“When people can’t find jobs, they go back to school.”
He believes that up to 2 percent of the increase of students is from the encouragement people are receiving to bolster their education, but the 2.4 percent beyond that is due to the economy.
Each year more people are applying for college because more opportunities are available to them. The internet has made application process easier and many colleges are moving mainly to online applications and dropping application fees, Murray said. In the past, applying for college could be costly and time consuming. This provides the public with the opportunity to easily apply to schools in any part of the world.
In two years it may be necessary to mention adding more housing for students, Murray said. Within the next couple of years NIC is expected only to grow.
