Record enrollment at Kirkwood

Kirkwood Community College set a record enrollment this fall, with a more than 17 percent increase over last year.

Officials have said for weeks they expected a record-breaking number of students on Kirkwood campuses.

The official number, released this morning, shows 17,841 students, up from 15,193 last fall. It's the highest total in the college's 44-year history. Enrollment counts are taken the 10th day of classes.

This fall's total shatters Kirkwood's past record enrollment, 15,466 students, from 2004.

Kirkwood President Mick Starcevich noted several possible factors driving the surge.

“It's no secret that the downsizings, layoffs and overall economic climate have brought many hundreds of students to us for specific training for new career directions,” Starcevich said in a statement.

The booming enrollment also reflects a growing number of recent high school graduates choosing Kirkwood as a starting point for their studies, he said.

The enrollment numbers include 7,752 students in Kirkwood's arts and sciences programs of study and 6,285 in the college's applied science career programs.

Over the past decade, about 40 percent of Kirkwood students go on to study at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, officials said.