If one thinks finding a parking spot at Sinclair is tough in 2009, just wait.
The state of Ohio expects student enrollment for community colleges to increase by 50 percent over the next 10 years. Will Sinclair Community College be prepared for such a boost in enrollment?
“To handle expansion like that, we will continue to develop the downtown campus,” said Sinclair President Dr. Steven Johnson. “We will be prepared.”
Johnson said Sinclair happens to have the highest market penetration of any community college in Ohio with nearly 2.8 percent of Montgomery County attending the college. The 2008-09 academic year has seen more than 23,000 students enroll and Johnson said he expects the college’s enrollment to reach 30,000 students in a decade.
The possible rise in tuition
With enrollment continuing to rise and break records, will Sinclair raise its tuition rates after its current freeze expires?
“We’ve had a commitment to having the lowest tuition in the state of Ohio for Montgomery County and for out-of-county, also,” said Johnson. “We might still have to raise tuition, but we would still be the lowest in the state.”
A tuition freeze was recently extended by Gov. Ted Strickland to keep Ohio’s two-year colleges in place.
Johnson reiterated that Sinclair had frozen its tuition for 12 of the previous 19 years, when the state only required two. The decision to raise tuition rates is given to state legislatures, not Sinclair.
“Keeping Sinclair strong and moving forward is very, very important,” said Johnson. “That means keeping it affordable, keeping the quality extraordinarily high and having the range of degree programs and classes that we have.”
Alternative energy on Johnson’s list
Another task on Johnson’s to-do list is of high priority.
Johnson believes that energy for our nation will be a huge issue as the country moves forward. Johnson envisions that Sinclair will build curriculum around alternative energy education.
“I think there will be a need for cutting-edge colleges and universities to provide engineering students with alternative energy technology education,” said Johnson. “We need to have an alternative energy center.”