COLLEGE GROWTH AND LEADERSHIP
July Editorial
The month of July begins a new phase in the life of Labette Community College. July is the month when we look back at our growth and accomplishments of the past academic year. July is also the month that our Board of Trustees reorganizes its’ leadership and welcomes a new Board member.
Labette Community College and the citizens of Labette and Cherokee County certainly have a lot to be proud of. Our College has experienced growth beyond our expectations. We have been able to serve more students and help those students achieve at least part of their dream. Our College continues to grow and exceeds the enrollment of other community colleges in our State.
Monthly visits with the legislature and the Kansas Board of Regents have been the key to our success in not loosing more than we could have during the state’s budget deliberation process. Labette Community College has been a leader in bringing, to the forefront, educational budget issues that will effect college funding and student’s education for a long time in the future. Our increase in enrollment has been the stabilizing factor in preparing a budget for the next academic year that will allow us to continue serving our students. It is important to point out that this is and has been a tremendous team effort involving the College administration, the Board of Trustees, the faculty and staff, and students of our College. This concentrated and concerted effort by all is what sets our College apart from others. It is our willingness to pull together when the times are tough, and celebrate our successes when our achievements warrant it.
Speaking of achievements, I would like to share some statistics that are impressive. We currently have 3,670 credit hours for our summer 2009 semester which includes1,499 online hours of instruction, 374 credit hours for our Cherokee Center. Compared to last year our summer enrollment had increased approximately 5%. Our total spring enrollment has increased over 9% and for Academic year 2009 our enrollment had increased over 9%. All in all a very successful year for our students. Our continued growth has allowed us to formulate and present a budget for next year that reflects no increase in the mill levy. And we add roughly nine million dollars back to our local economy on a yearly basis. As I have said in the past Labette Community College provides a great return on your investment.
As mentioned in the beginning of our article we will see changes in our Board of Trustees. I want to thank and express my deep appreciation for out-going trustee Robert Brandenburg has done for our students. He is truly an advocate for our all of our students and has clearly demonstrated that during his 12 years of service to Labette Community College. We thank him for all he has done and all that he will continue to do for Labette Community College as a member the College’s Foundation.
We also want to welcome Mike Howerter to Labette Community College’s Board of Trustees. The administration, faculty, staff and students look forward to working with him to continue to provide the very best educational experiences we can offer our students. Our College’s accomplishments are a result of a lot of very talented people moving in one direction to provide “Quality learning opportunities in a supportive environment for success in a changing world.” As always we want to encourage all of you to visit your community college. There are always exciting things happening on and around campus. We look forward to seeing you soon.