Southwestern Michigan College has started the spring semester with increased enrollment.
SMC President Joe Odenwald tells us enrollment is up 11.5% in contact hours, with an increase of 177 students over the spring 2023. He says the college seems to have recovered from the pandemic.
“Right now we’re experiencing some of our best retention rates in history, we’re getting great applications from students who want to be here, our graduation rate is the best it’s ever been, and we’re having this unprecedented fifth straight semester of enrollment growth year to year,” Odenwald said.
Odenwald says several programs are going strong, from nursing to CTE.
“I grew up as a farm kid. Sometimes, one thing hits, one crop’s good and another one isn’t. This year, it just happens to be a year when everything is just really, really good. All of our programs are doing really well.”
Odenwald says especially popular this year are the welding, auto, and construction programs. Also, dual enrollment is up along with online classes.
Odenwald notes on-campus student housing is more than 90% full, part of the reason why the college recently announced more than $2 million in new housing construction, which is set to be complete in 2025.
