The College Surpasses Enrollment Record Set Before COVID and Hurricanes
(Lake Charles) – SOWELA’s Fall 2024 enrollment bucked a downward national trend and experienced an increase in enrollment of 8.44% year-over-year. Nationally, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, enrollment at community colleges has declined by nearly 12 percent since 2019 and at four-year public colleges by more than 3 percent.
SOWELA’s Accounting program saw the most significant increase at 39%, followed by Chemical Laboratory at 37.5%, Culinary Arts at 28%, and Industrial Electrical at 22.5%. The SOWELA Oakdale site saw the most significant increase by location at 18%. The enrollment increases can be attributed to several reasons, including a student-first focus, strong student support services, no increase in tuition or fees for the past nine years, and instructional programs tied directly to the region’s workforce needs.
The College has 4,037 students enrolled, which continues to grow this semester as individuals register for Next Start, short-term workforce training, such as CDL, Medical Assistant, and Fiber Optics training, among others. The College is also experiencing a growth in the number of credit hours SOWELA students take, which is 36,036, up from 25,288 at this time last year.
With this semester’s enrollment gains, SOWELA has exceeded its historic enrollment record from the Fall 2019 semester before the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Laura and Delta.
“SOWELA continues to focus on our main mission of workforce development while maintaining an even greater focus on the needs of our students. Our constant increase in enrollment for the past 3 years substantiates our importance in providing the programs students deem relevant and critical to career development and success,” said SOWELA Chancellor Dr. Neil Aspinwall. “SOWELA provides the means for our students to access high skill, high wage, and high demand jobs. We do this through degrees, diplomas, certificates, industry-based certifications (IBCs), and short-term customized contract training. In many instances, students are opting for shorter term programs that will allow them to enter the workforce quicker or enhance their current work situations in a shorter time period. Our willingness to constantly evaluate our programs to ensure the programs are meeting the needs of our business/industry partners as well as our students is directly correlated to our increasing enrollment numbers. Healthy sustained enrollment is a sure sign of a healthy growing institution.”
Registration is open for currently enrolled and prospective students in SOWELA’s “Next Start” initiative. “Next Start” allows current students to add another course to their Fall 2024 schedule or for new students to sign up for Fall classes, including general education and automotive courses. Enrollment for the Next Start option is open now and will end on Monday, October 7, 2024. Visit www.sowela.edu/next-start to learn more. Scholarships and financial aid are available for those who qualify.
SOWELA offers more than 30 programs and 60+ industry-based credentials including Industrial Instrumentation, Machine Tool Technology, Business Administration, Drafting and Design Technology, Surgical Technology, Accounting Technology, HVAC and Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training.
About SOWELA Technical Community College
SOWELA Technical Community College provides traditional, distance, and lifelong learning experiences and awards associate degrees, technical diplomas, and certificates. The College empowers learners in career and technical education and enables transfer students to pursue a four-year degree, so all learners excel as globally competitive citizens. The College has been educating the region’s workforce for more than 80 years.