Costa Mesa : OCC Continues to Have Highest Enrollment

Orange Coast College continues to be the largest-enrollment, single-campus institution of higher learning in Orange County, fall registration figures showed.

The community college closed mid-semester registration in late October with an overall enrollment of 25,320 students. That is only 99 fewer students than a year ago, campus officials said, and late registration for several short-term courses is expected to enroll another 150 or more students before the end of this semester.

College officials predicted that the final tally by the end of the semester will be about 25,500 students.

Delayed courses during the current semester have considerably boosted the college’s enrollment. When the semester began on Aug. 18, Orange Coast was down 5.4% in enrollment from the previous year, but the latest figures show only a .4% net decrease, college officials noted. More students enrolled, officials noted, as late-starting courses began after Labor Day.

College officials have said that Orange Coast’s shift two years ago to semesters that begin prior to Labor Day is still causing enrollment problems. Many high school graduates have summer jobs that they don’t want to quit in mid-August, college officials have said.

Registration for spring semester at the college will begin on Dec. 1, and classes for that semester will start Jan. 12.