— North Central Texas College has hit a major milestone.

System-wide enrollment at NCTC rose to a record high this fall.

School officials announced Wednesday that enrollment on the college’s five campuses has hit an all-time high with 10,175 students enrolled in credit courses.

Enrollment at NCTC was at 9,919 on the official census date of Fall 2011, so this year’s total of 10,175 marks a 2.6 percent increase system-wide.

NCTC has campuses in Gainesville, Corinth, Flower Mound, Bowie and Graham. All five campuses showed increases in enrollment from last year, with four of the five setting enrollment records.

Corinth saw enrollment swell to 5,870 students, a high mark for the Denton County campus. At the Flower Mound campus, enrollment rose 28.1 percent to 1,624. Another big increase occurred in Bowie where enrollment went up 23 percent to 588 students. The Graham campus also set a new record with enrollment of 301 students.

The Gainesville campus, while not setting a record, did see an increase of 5 percent with 2,343 students enrolled.

NCTC Vice-President of Student Services Dr. Billy Roessler said there is a simple reason that more and more students are choosing the school.

“We’re a quality institution with a great price for smaller classes that offer more attention to students in those smaller classes,” he said. “We have a lot of students enrolled in dual credit where we reduce tuition rates for those high school students. That’s a great way to get started and then once they finish high school, to continue on with us.”

Of course, having more students creates challenges for administrators as they try meet the needs of a growing population.

“We saw that classes were filling up so more sections were offered,” Roessler said. “I know we tried to add some more sections in August, but finding teachers in August was a challenge, so it’s a continuing struggle to keep our student-teacher ratio as low as we can.”

Another concern is finding space for all these students, since most campuses are already at or near capacity.

“We are offering more and more online classes, and these (enrollment) numbers include online students,” Roessler added. “Also a hybrid class that meets in person once a week and then meets online the other times is another way to utilize the limited space that we have. Corinth is essentially maxed out and our Flower Mound campus is pretty full already in just its second year.”

Despite the challenges, school officials are proud of reaching the milestone.

“Last year we touched the 10,000 mark but we didn’t sustain it through the census date, so for us to be able to maintain it this year, this is definitely a milestone for the institution,” Roessler said. “This will be a mark for the institution as we continue to go forward. This will be the semester and year that we crossed the 10,000-student threshold. It’s quite exciting to be a part of it. Many members of our faculty and staff have worked hard to create this success. We’re all in it together.”

All Hall of Fame honorees are permanently recognized with engraved plaques on the east wall of the GISD auditorium.  This year's GHS Alumni Hall of Fame honorees are Bob Eggleston, Class of 1950, a long-time IBM official in the field of computers and aerospace engineering and marketing; Dr. Edwin Hammer, Class of 1952, a distinguished researcher in the field of comprehensive cancer control in Texas; Dallas attorney Ed Wright, Class of 1970; and the late Bradley John Neu, Class of 1991, a distinguished Lubbock public school educator in the field of chemistry, physics and astronomy. Neu died of cancer this past year.

This year's GISD Education Hall of Fame honorees are the late Robin Byars, coach and social studies teacher at GHS; GISD Foundation founding president and former school board president Charles Draper; and long-time elementary school teacher Nadine Roberts.

Coach Byars, a one-time head coach and athletic director, is the first African-American to be inducted in the Gainesville ISD Educator Hall of Fame.

Every year, the GISD Education Foundation works with the alumni to ensure a successful luncheon.

The foundation is beginning its 11th year. Last year it awarded $16,008.86 in grants to teachers throughout the district.

If you are interested in making a donation to either the alumni, the foundation or both contact Chad Henderson at chenderson@gainesvilleisd.org. If you are interesting in purchasing a ticket for the luncheon, contact kneu@gainesvilleisd.org.