Enrollment at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s West Harrison Center has grown by 72 percent since last year. That increase is largely attributed to expanded academic course offerings and flexible class schedules.
“The West Harrison Center began offering a very small number of university transfer courses in spring 2007,” said Dr. Janice Poole, dean at the center. “Since then, Gulf Coast has strategically expanded offerings at the Center to encompass a substantial component of coursework required for the Associate of Arts degree through evening, weekend, and other flexible short-term offerings.”
Poole said the center also offers a variety of student services to meet the needs of its growing student population. “Not only are we well-supported through a combination of on-site student services, business services, learning resources, technologically enhanced classroom facilities, we also offer developmental education courses to meet the needs of under-prepared students.”
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s West Harrison Center, located in the north-west corner of Long Beach was established in 1985 to provide occupational training. In the past few years, the small center has been growing rapidly and as a result, the College has expanded programs to include both training and courses that transfer to a four-year college or university.
In January of this year, MGCCC asked for permission to expand the center to ensure financial aid availability to students entering these new programs at West Harrison. March 16, 2010, the center was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges to offer the full Associate of Arts degree for the students attending West Harrison Center. Dr. Joan Haynes, Vice President for Instruction and Student Services, said “Western Harrison County was the most devastated Hurricane Katrina-affected area within the college’s four-county service district, and this expansion approval will help the college maximize the usage of these facilities in the most beneficial and cost-effective way for the taxpayers of Harrison County.”
Last semester, 421 students attended the center and 60% of these students took classes with the goal of transferring to receive a bachelor’s degree. This semester, the center has experienced a 98% increase in enrollment. Popular courses include English, college algebra, statistics, and a number of humanities courses. Cynthia Powell, student at the West Harrison Center is thrilled to have courses here in her home town of Long Beach, says “I had a great experience in statistics, a class I needed to enter the BSN (Bachelors of Science in Nursing) program at USM.”
For more information on courses and programs at the West Harrison Center, contact the center’s admissions office at 228-868-6057.
