FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2004
CONTACT: Kay Hendricks, ACCD Coordinator of Communication, 210/208-8006

ALAMO COMMUNITY COLLEGES’ FALL 2004 ENROLLMENT SURPASSES 50,000

The Alamo Community College District’s fall 2004 enrollment of 50,056 is the highest fall enrollment ever recorded by the district and represents a 2.73% increase over fall 2003. This is also the seventh straight year that the district’s fall enrollment has increased.
Among the district’s four colleges, Northwest Vista College saw the largest increase in enrollment this fall, with an 11.7% rise, and achieved the largest enrollment recorded since the college opened. St. Philip’s College’s enrollment this fall also increased significantly, up 4.24%.

“We are pleased that our efforts at providing accessible higher education have been rewarded with yet another record number of students enrolling with us this fall” said ACCD Chancellor J. Terence Kelly. “The 50,000 students who attend classes at our seven campuses represent more than half of all college students in Bexar County,”
he added.

Northwest Vista College, one of the fastest growing colleges of its size in the country, enrolled 9,079 students this fall. Palo Alto College, the city’s only higher education institution on the southside, enrolled 7,986 students. Enrollment at St. Philip’s College, the only community college in the nation certified as both a Historically Black College and a Hispanic Serving Institution, rose to 10,500. San Antonio College, the largest single campus community college in the state, increased its enrollment to 22,491 students.The ACCD is the largest institution of higher education in South Texas.

Northwest Vista College, Palo Alto College, St. Philip’s College and San Antonio College, the colleges of the ACCD, offer day, evening and weekend classes, plus Internet courses and telecourses. Several of the colleges also offer weekend degree options that allow students to earn a two-year associate’s degree on weekends.

The four ACCD colleges are conveniently located on the southside, northwest, north central and eastside of San Antonio. Classes are also offered at St. Philip’s College’s Southwest Campus near KellyUSA, at the Northeast Campus at 7990 Pat Booker Road, at the district’s Advanced Technology Center at KellyUSA and at off-campus locations, including local businesses and military bases. Tuition at the ACCD colleges is the lowest in Bexar County, and a wealth of financial aid, including scholarships, loans and grants, is available for qualified students.