BEATRICE – With a community college approaching approval of the third strategic plan in its history, it stands in a healthy position from an enrollment perspective.


A team of 18 members has been working the past 18 months to finalize a new five-year strategic plan at Southeast Community College….and the school is going into that with double digit enrollment growth.


"The enrollment is not specific to one area....it is all across various programs, across various demographics...a very, very broad enrollment growth."  SCC President Dr. Paul Illich says enrollment that was once around eight thousand students is now approaching eleven thousand….following an extensive modernization of facilities and what he calls the school’s agility in responding to needs.


Enrollment growth was a component of the school’s current strategic plan. "We increased by ten percent in the fall of 2024, over the fall of '23. One of the things, if you remember, that was particularly important as we transitioned to a new funding model....about 65 percent of our growth or a little more than that, was associated with our current technical programs. It was very important as we went into that new model, there were opportunities to grow...and we certainly did see that in the fall."


Spring enrollment last year was up 12-percent over the previous year…with another near 12-percent increase this spring.


"We went up 13 percent on the Lincoln Campus...4-percent at Milford. Now, Milford...prior to this particular semester...was growing at double digits every single semester. It kind of leveled off a little bit, but it's still at 4 percent growth....and its 16 percent growth at the Beatrice campus....and this is for the spring."


Under age 20 enrollment has gone up 13-percent….10-percent from ages 20-to-24….18-percent 25 to 29….and 5 percent from ages 30 to 39. The enrollment increases cover both both genders….and across all divisions of study this spring, compared with the same period a year ago.


Part-time student enrollment has increased 11-percent….and full-time enrollment is up 12-percent, according to college data. The growth has the college looking at additional student housing space.


Chairperson of the 18-member group formulating a new strategic plan, Shawna Herwick says the process has included holding about 25 internal listening sessions among students and staff and about a dozen external listening sessions throughout the school’s 15-county service area. "We want to grow, and we think we can do better. Our internal data says we haven't reached the full potential or impact, here. We're talking about themes....all of those represent underlying weaknesses, continued opportunities for improvement or areas the data shows we still have potential to grow."


Components of the new plan include academic and workforce readiness, student success, enrollment growth, employee excellence, financial resource development, integrated marketing and branding and institutional agility, among other things.  The draft plan will go to the school’s Board of Governos in March, for approval possibly next month or in April. It would go into effect in July.


Southeast Community College Board members took a brief look at some tuition options yesterday, for the coming academic year of 2025-2026.  The board, meeting at the East “O” Street Lincoln Campus, will likely act next month to set tuition and room and board.


Current tuition and fees at SCC stand at $123 per semester hour. The average across community colleges is around $120.


In recent years, SCC has held tuition steady, but focused on raising fees as a means of helping to finance major facility improvements across the three-campus system.


Options being considered include a one-dollar increase in tuition and a two-dollar increase in student fee……a one-dollar increase in both tuition and fee….or no tuition increase with a two-dollar fee increase.
Major increases in enrollment have provided more tuition and fee support for the college.