Bishop State: High Enrollment, Opening Of Tech Facility

Bishop State Community College announced a surge in fall enrollment, with a total of 3,608 students currently enrolled. This represents a 22% increase from the fall 2022 enrollment of 2,968 students. Nationally, community colleges are making a modest resurgence from pandemic enrollment decreases. According to spring 2023 data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, community college enrollment rose 0.5%, up from a decrease of 8% in 2022. The school says a key driver for this enrollment boost is Bishop State’s growing Office of Early College Programs, which includes dual-enrollment partnerships with local high schools and homeschools. “These initiatives have empowered students to pursue higher education earlier, easing the transition from high school to college, while saving on tuition costs,” President Olivier Charles explained. Additionally, Bishop State recently celebrated the opening of its Gene Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technology, AL.com reported. The 80,000-ft2, $30-million center allows students at Bishop State to receive training in a variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, including computer-aided drafting and design, 3D printing, electronic engineering technology, and mechatronics and robotics. It is also home to the only process technology training center of its kind in the world, the college said: the facility contains a fully independent functional pilot plant with three Polaris Hands-On-Training units, including one with a glycol distillation column. Built like those in the industry, the units are operated by an Emerson Delta V Distributed Control System from a separate production control room. Students who train at the center are also able to work at an industrial facility in the area through the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education on the Coast program. Students spend part of the week working at a facility such as AM/NS Calvert and part of the week at Bishop State, where they complete the training required for an associate degree.