FVCC summer numbers mixed

The Daily Inter Lake

Flathead Valley Community College had a good summer for continuing education class participation but a decline in for-credit class enrollments.

Leslie Rogers of the continuing education division reported at a board of trustees meeting Monday that the college's Super Host program attracted 300 more participants than last summer.

This summer's Elderhostel Program also passed a landmark with none of the 25 program weeks canceled. Rogers said enrollment numbers weren't available for the program until it ends in October.

"There are over 700 participants and it's going well," she said.

Elderhostel provides educational travel experiences for adults age 55 and older.

Kid's College showed a slight decline compared to the previous summer.

Credit class numbers continued a trend of recent semesters with a decline compared to last summer.

Faith Hodges, director of enrollment planning and research, said the decline followed the pattern of past years with students enrolling in fewer classes in periods of low unemployment in the valley.

Summer enrollment declined about 10 percent, from the equivalent of 250 full-time students in 2005 to 226 this year, Hodges said.

Hodges did not report on enrollment for the fall semester.

The college received recognition for the growth in its online program from ed2go, a network of colleges and universities which contribute Internet college courses. Flathead Valley Community College's program increased by 100 percent compared to the same period last year.