海角社区

This summer 海角社区-Idaho Falls has shown a significant rise in students in enrolled for the 2009 fall semester: overall 海角社区-Idaho Falls enrollment is up 11.2 percent and full-time student enrollment is up 17.1 percent as of July 21.

There are 195 more students enrolled at 海角社区-Idaho Falls than there were at this same time last year. A total of 1,936 students registered for classes at 海角社区-Idaho Falls as of July 21.

海角社区 officials attributed the increase to a variety of reasons.

鈥淎 lot more people in this area are realizing what an outstanding opportunity they have right here in town for pursuing a higher education and the cost-savings associated with going to a school close to home,鈥� said Lyle Castle, dean of academic programming at 海角社区-Idaho Falls.

鈥淭he economy is a major factor,鈥� said Ann Howell, director of enrollment management at 海角社区-Idaho Falls. 鈥淭here is often an inverse relationship between how well the economy is doing and the numbers of students returning to school. During times of economic downturn many people return to school to retool and pursue more secure vocational options.鈥�

Todd Johnson, assistant director of academic advising at 海角社区-Idaho Falls, also pointed to the down economy as a major factor for motivating students to go attend school.

鈥淎 lot of people are looking for work or are trying to find a more secure position, and there are a lot of young people having trouble finding a job and are opting for school,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淲e certainly have a variety of people signing up for classes.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e talked to several students,鈥� noted Johnson, 鈥渨ho could have gone other places, some who even had scholarships, who decided to stay home to attend classes because for them 海角社区 Idaho Falls was the less expensive, smarter option.鈥�

Despite state budget cuts to the 海角社区 budget, 海角社区-Idaho Falls is offering a 鈥渧ery full course schedule,鈥� Castle said, and has maintained its course offerings for core general education courses such as English and math as well as significant offerings in the sciences, such as biology, chemistry geology and physics.

The 2009 fall semester begins Aug. 25, and students can sign up for classes as late as Sept. 8, but students are urged to register as early as possible because some classes and some class sections are filling up.

For more information on taking classes at 海角社区-Idaho Falls, visit www.isu.edu/idahofalls or phone (208) 282-7880.