According to Ron Young, vice president, academic affairs and enrollment management, that increase is fed by students majoring in nursing and business administration who enroll in more virtual classes than students from other areas of study.
"Many of our students, including those in nursing and business administration, are part-time, and find that online classes fit into their busy schedules," he added. "They can take care of a lot of prerequisite coursework through our Virtual Campus.
"On the other hand, nearly one in three of the students takes virtual courses exclusively, and this figure is growing," said Young.
The Harrisburg Campus experienced a slight decrease in traditional classroom enrollment as students have shown an increased interest in online classes taken through the Virtual Campus, according to Alterman "Chip" Jackson, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management.
"The Virtual Campus allows students to earn college credit from the convenience of their home without having to travel to one of our campuses," said Jackson. "In addition, the York Center is attracting some students who previously attended classes at other campus locations."
Spring enrollment at HACC's York Center, which opened at 2010 Pennsylvania Avenue in the fall, has exceeded 1,000 students. This figure is more than double the enrollment during the spring semester last year.
The Lancaster Campus will welcome more than 3,500 students for the spring semester, of which more than 550 students are enrolled for the first time.
Also attracting new students is the Lebanon Campus, which has an eight percent increase in the number of new students enrolling for the spring semester as compared to the same time last year. The Lebanon Campus now has about 900 students.
Introduction of a practical nursing program has contributed to Gettysburg's strong enrollment for the spring semester. This spring the Gettysburg Campus is home to more than 1,300 students.
"We are pleased with our healthy enrollment for the spring semester, which currently stands at more than 15,600 students collegewide," said Dr. Edna V. Baehre, president of HACC. "Our most impressive growth is occurring at our York Center location and within our Virtual Campus. We will continue to examine how we can expand our offerings online in order to provide the best access to quality education for our region. We are finding out that our students consider the Virtual Campus every bit the equivalent of the classroom experience."
Registration continues at all of HACC's campuses until January 18. Although day classes begin tomorrow, evening and off-campus classes start at most locations the week of January 23. Some of HACC's locations offer at late start semester that begins February 20. For more information, visit the college's Web site at www.hacc.edu. Click on a specific location at the top of the page, or call (717) 780-2378.