Pierce’s Summer Enrollment Up 9%

Summer enrollment at Pierce College rose 10% over last year, partly because of more classes, new air conditioning and better outreach to high schools, officials said Thursday.

As of this week, 6,758 students have enrolled in summer classes, compared to 6,135 last year, said college spokesman Mike Cornner. The figures represent the combined enrollment for Pierce’s two summer sessions.

Pierce College is undergoing a $22-million improvement project, including sidewalk repair, landscaping and painting. Perhaps most important, air conditioning has been installed in all classrooms.

“We’re in a much more desirable situation,” said Cornner. “And we’ve offered more classes.”

Administrators opened new sections as classes filled, primarily general education courses, which are needed for credits toward a degree, Cornner said. Summer enrollment is primarily composed of high school students preparing for the fall semester at four-year institutions and college students trying to finish their undergraduate degrees more quickly.

Pierce officials also announced Thursday that they will add a winter term to the academic calendar and shorten other sessions.

Starting in the fall, Pierce will offer five academic sessions. The fall and spring semesters will be 16 weeks each, and the two summer sessions and the winter term will be five weeks each.

Previously, the fall and spring terms were 19 weeks.

The fall term also will start later than usual, on Sept. 5.

Pierce will make up the time by adding about 10 minutes to each class, which means a 50-minute class would become 60 minutes, Cornner said. Pierce President Rocky Young used the strategy at Santa Monica College, where he previously served as vice president.

Eventually, Cornner said, the new academic calendar will allow some high school students to finish two years of college in one year, speeding their transfer to the University of California at Los Angeles.

“Parents can have the advantage of not paying two years at UCLA,” Cornner said.