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Northwest College Working To Reverse Declining Enrollment

As the school year begins, Northwest College once again has a decline in enrollment. The Powell community college is working on reversing that.

For the past couple of years, Northwest College's enrollment has dipped. According to the Powell Tribune, last year's fall enrollment dropped 10 percent from 2017. This year, the enrollment is expected to drop another seven percent, but the official numbers aren't in yet.

President Stefani Hicswa said community colleges enrollment all over the nation has declined since numbers are driven by the economy; more people enroll when there's higher unemployment. Hicwsa said Northwest is working on implementing new programs to attract more students.

"We, also, want to make sure that we are offering the right program mix for the kind of students that want to come to Northwest college and adults that are living in Big Horn Basin that haven't finished a degree," said Hicswa.

She said targeting this new demographic will allow the college to meet more of the regions needs.

"We can become a comprehensive community college to meet the workforce needs of Big Horn Basin to give employeers educated work force they need," she said.

Hicswa said new career and technical education degrees will be offered this year and next year and the college is working on offering an adult scholarship program.

Kamila has worked for public radio stations in California, New York, France and Poland. Originally from New York City, she loves exploring new places. Kamila received her master in journalism from Columbia University. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the surrounding areas with her two pups and husband.
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