Porterviile College enrollment climbs again

Nearly 4,000 students taking classes

Porterville College (PC) began its fall semester on Monday and campus was buzzing with activity.

“The first day has been fine,” said Bill Henry, vice president of academic affairs. “It’s still busy in the (student center) but I’ve spent most of my morning on campus and there’s a lot of activity out there.”

According to Henry, student enrollment is up 3 percent compared to this past year.

“We’re knocking on the door of 4,000 [students],” he said, adding the majority were more than likely fulltime. “I would say we are probably up a few hundred students but I couldn’t give you an exact number.”

Part of the reason, according to Henry, is that students tend to rearrange their schedules as they try to squeeze into the last available spots left in a course.

“The first couple of weeks are always hard to put your thumb on because students are moving around,” he said. “Some are on wait lists and moving to other classes if they can’t get in, while some find the class they are in isn’t really what they are looking for; there’s a lot of movement those first three or four days.”

And there’s been more movement than usual due to the college’s construction projects, including installing new air conditioners in the PC Gymnasium.

The work has displaced a few athletic team practices and temporarily closed two classrooms.

According to Henry, the hope among campus officials is for the project to be complet-

ed by late December.

Lorie Barker, reference librarian at PC, said a lot of the students came through the library on the first day because they were lost.

“We’re mainly giving students directions to different buildings around campus,” she said, adding that a few students were already utilizing study rooms, computers and reference material, however.

Barker said she hoped students would be encouraged to approach her or any of the other library staff for assistance when needed. “They are always so worried about bothering me, they shouldn’t; I’m here to help.”

In recent weeks, PC library staff has tried to make that message a little more visible by wearing shirts that have “Please Interrupt Me” printed in large letters across the front. According to Barker, student feedback regarding the shirts has been nothing but positive.

“Students are bashful about asking for help in the library,” she said. “I try to go to a lot of the classrooms [to meet students]. I think I present a friendly face.”