Dr. Bill Seymour speaking at Cleveland State Community College’s groundbreaking ceremony in August
Just months after being named Tennessee’s College Of The Year, and just weeks after breaking ground on a brand new Health and Science Center, Cleveland State Community College strikes once again. For the second straight year, CSCC leads the way in enrollment increases across the Volunteer State’s Tennessee Board of Regents community colleges.
When the final numbers came in on Sept. 8, Cleveland State found itself with a 6.6 percent increase when counting their FTE, full time equivalent, numbers. Nearly 3,400 students have made the decision to call the college home for the Fall 2019 semester.
“First and foremost, this enrollment increase is due to the outstanding work of our faculty and staff,” said CSCC President Dr. Bill Seymour. “They have been committed over the years to making sure that student success is job one!”
Students are enrolled online and on-campus through the CSCC main campus in Cleveland as well as CSCC’s Athens Center in Athens, Tn. and Monroe County Center in Vonore, Tn. The Athens Center also registered a huge enrollment increase of its own. The McMinn County-based facility has seen a 14 percent increase in FTE enrollment from just one year ago.
Among the latest additions being given credit for the continued enrollment success is the implementation of the coaches within CSCC’s Students Success Center. Each incoming freshman is assigned a Student Success Coach which helps the new college student with everything from financial aid to course advisement. “We are already seeing positive outcomes through our Success Coach Program,” added Dr. Seymour. “Each new student has someone who is thinking about their success every day.”
Over the past two years, enrollment increases through such programs as the Tennessee Valley Early College, Tennessee Reconnect, and Dual Enrollment helped play a role in the continued growth of Cleveland State.
From recent dual enrollment increases to the breaking ground of two new facilities at CSCC, the college continues to provide new options which appeal to recruits and returning students, alike, said officials. “All of this hard work by the faculty, staff, and most importantly, the students, is resulting in higher retention rates,” said Dr. Seymour. “More of our first year students have returned for their second year.”
More reason for this kind of success in the coming years lies in the announcement of the college’s first new academic building in 45 years. Soon to begin construction, the college plans to offer classes in their new Health and Science Center. The two-story facility will be located at the corner of Adkisson Drive and Norman Chapel Road on the CSCC main campus in Cleveland.
The new facility will offer a full range of state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms to service students enrolled in everything from Biology to EMT coursework. “We’ve been planning this for a long time,” said Dr. Seymour. “This will be a game-changer for our campus and our community.”
For more information, contact CSCC’s Director of Communications and Marketing Don Foley at 473-2341 or dfoley@clevelandstatecc.edu.