Local News in Brief : Fountain Valley : Coastline Enrollment Is Up Slightly for Fall

Enrollment at Coastline Community College, which began its fall semester this week, is up slightly from a year ago, college officials said Wednesday. They also reported a significant increase in the number of courses the average student at the college is taking.

“We have a 0.3% increase of students so far, and I expect about a 1% total increase by the time registration ends on Sept. 16,” said Drew Simpson, spokesman for the college. “There is a 3.7% increase already showing in the total (class) seat count, which means that more students this year are taking more courses.”

Simpson said the early registration figures also show an 11% increase so far in the number of students taking televised college-credit courses.

“We are finding the demographics at Coastline are changing,” Simpson said. “Previously, most students only took one course. Now more students are taking several courses. Another reason for increased courses is our ‘weekend college,’ which began two years ago.” Simpson said the weekend college allows a student to take up to 12 credits a semester, all in weekend courses. The weekend college can lead to an Associate of Arts degree in accounting, business or management, he noted.

Simpson said Coastline forecasts a total enrollment of more than 15,000 students by the end of registration. The community college, although headquartered in Fountain Valley, has no actual campus; instead, it operates out of a variety of buildings in Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Westminster and Newport Beach.