Classes at the college started on Aug. 26 and NCCC President Joe Keegan said the enrollment numbers were a “positive note” to start on, with 764 degree-seeking students now enrolled compared to 710 last fall.

Keegan credited the enrollment uptick to new and expanded programs, including some short-term microcredentials, as well as the generosity of donors supporting scholarships, which he said removes “financial barriers.”

“With some of the acute stressors of the COVID pandemic behind us, perhaps higher education and the value that it brings to students and their families seems more in reach,” Keegan said.

These figures follow a national trend of colleges — particularly community colleges with a high vocational program focus — growing after several years of decline.

A May report by the National Student Clearinghouse shows that undergraduate enrollment increased 1.2% last year, with community colleges seeing a 2.6% increase. The report shows that enrollment at community colleges focused on vocations grew much faster than academic-focused ones — 16% compared to 0.2%.

NCCC started the spring semester seven months ago with 617 degree-seeking students, 8% higher than the 568 students enrolled at that time in 2023.

In the college’s budget proposal to Essex and Franklin counties last month, it projected a total of 1,020 full time equivalent students in the coming year, 43 more than last year, or a 4% increase. Full time equivalent is a calculation of all the full-time degree-seeking students, as well as an addition of the part-time students in the college’s many credential, microcredential and alternative programs into full-time equivalent students.

The college doesn’t yet have a full headcount or breakdown of full-time students or Second Chance Pell students. These are usually finalized in late September for a report to the State University of New York system. The Second Chance Pell prison program is projected to have 135 inmate students this year.

The college’s new short-term microcredential programs are contributing to rising numbers, which aren’t calculated in that 8% increase. NCCC’s new direct support professional microcredential kicked off with 44 students enrolled, according to the college.

“The enrollment in this new DSP offering is a wonderful example of successful collaboration among the state, local human services organizations and the college,” Keegan said. “Through state funding, this program helps human services workers who support people with disabilities strengthen their professional skills and credentials.

“They work hard, they support some of the most vulnerable people in our community,” he added.

NCCC’s health science program saw a 40% jump in enrollment, with 154 students registered across all three campuses, compared to 110 last year.

Keegan attributed this to the health care field offering meaningful career opportunities and upward mobility.

The Adirondack Foundation’s recent “Most Promising Jobs of the Adirondack North Country” report predicts 2,780 job openings for registered nurses in the region in the coming 10 years, with a median annual wage projected at $82,216.

The human service, chemical dependency counseling, and child and family services degrees had a 20% rise from 63 to 75 students combined in online classes and classes in Saranac Lake and Malone.

The college also saw enrollment growth in its criminal justice, AAS business administration, massage therapy and early childhood education programs.

The college’s new cybersecurity and digital forensics program, a partnership with Herkimer College, has 14 students enrolled.

All 29 students in NCCC’s new spring-start hybrid AAS nursing program continued on into the fall semester, according to the college.

This enrollment increase comes despite a decline in the number of traditional college age residents in Essex and Franklin counties. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the estimated population of 20- to 24-year-olds in Franklin County decreased from 3,348 in 2017 to 2,828 in 2022. In Essex County, the estimated population of 20- to 24-year-olds decreased from 2,133 in 2017 to 1,790 in 2022.

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The budget

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Keegan said the enrollment numbers are the “first fruits” of the hard work of many people. He thanked the state, the counties and the college’s other supporters for making investments he hopes will pay off in dividends for students and the local community.

The college’s proposed $15,970,453 budget was approved by Franklin and Essex counties last month. It increases spending by 4%, or $600,000. It anticipates $15.49 million in revenue, a 2%, or $338,000, increase.

To cover this gap, the college is planning to transfer $484,000 from its $4.9 million reserves, which are equivalent to 31% of NCCC’s total unrestricted net operating costs.

Funding through NCCC’s three revenue sources — students, Franklin and Essex counties, and the state — has stayed flat for the past four years, though inflation has increased the cost of operations. Because of this, the college has been running on a deficit for several years.

This semester, the college ended its coronavirus pandemic-era tuition freeze, raising its rates slightly for the first time in four years. Franklin and Essex counties both also agreed to contribute $38,500 more than last year toward the college’s operations this year.

Each county contributes $1.29 million towards operations and $50,000 toward maintenance capital projects.

Students have been paying the same $2,640 per semester tuition they paid back in 2019. Out of state residents have been paying $3,960 per semester. Keegan said the college’s board of trustees has approved a 2% increase to tuition for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic started after holding out as long as they could.

The 2% increase will bring state-residing students’ tuition to $2,692 and out of state students’ tuition to $4,039 — an increase of $52 and $79, respectively.

Students are estimated to be the largest revenue source for the college this year, producing 42% of NCCC’s funding.

The state comes in next, pitching in 26%. The counties produce 23% of the revenue — 11.5% each. The 9% left comes from the NCCC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The 57-year-old college, part of the State University of New York system, has 30 degree and certificate programs; campuses in Saranac Lake, Malone and Ticonderoga; online courses and classes for inmates at correctional facilities in Ray Brook and Malone as part of the Second Chance Pell program.

The nearby private Paul Smith’s College is expecting almost 600 students to be enrolled this fall, with a goal of returning to having 1,000 students enrolled in the next five years.