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Due to the sluggish economy, more students are stretching their education dollars by enrolling at Harrisburg Area Community College, school officials said.
Stuart Savin, vice president and dean of the Lancaster campus, said he expects about 5,000 students to enroll at the school for the 2008-09 academic year, a nearly 9 percent increase over last school year.
Overall, enrollment at HACC's five campuses rose 4.2 percent in 2007-08 to 18,857 students, compared with 18,093 in 2006-07.
Savin said increasing enrollment is indicative of a slow economy.
"There's a strong history that shows those seeking higher education turn to community colleges in hard economic times. There's a relationship there," Savin said. "People want a quality education at a value."
That was Carlos Gyles' thinking. Gyles, 19, of Quarryville said he enrolled at HACC's Lancaster campus because it's affordable.
Gyles intends to study accounting.
"Three of my best friends go here, so I knew it was inexpensive," Gyles said. "My finances haven't been so great over the last year, but by going to HACC, I'll be able to save."
Rachel Roessler, 22, a junior at the University of Maryland, is finishing her college education at HACC's Lancaster campus.Roessler, a psychology major, said she needs about 30 credits — mostly elective courses — to graduate.
Roessler of Ephrata had received some financial help from her parents. But this school year she will be paying the entire tuition bill.
"I was really stressing about how I was going to pay for it," Roessler said. "But then my boyfriend told me to enroll in HACC. It made sense."
Instead of paying about $8,000 a semester for tuition at the University of Maryland, Roessler, who enrolled at HACC during the Lancaster campus's open registration July 22, will pay $2,316, the cost of 12 credits at HACC.
She plans to transfer the credits to the University of Maryland to complete her degree requirements.
Roessler's mother, Ellen, said paying for college had put a strain on the family budget in previous years.
"We had two other children in college at the time," Ellen Roessler said.
Neil Anderson of Lancaster enrolled at HACC after taking courses at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology for more than a year.
(664) (157) (70) (13) (13) (3) (2)Anderson quit going to Thaddeus Stevens because he didn't feel the curriculum was a good fit for him, so he's going to give HACC a try.
"I hear that the quality of instruction is very good, and it's a great price," Anderson, who plans to study architecture, said.
When she finishes her degree in 2009, Roessler said she will be starting on a new path in life without worry.
"I'll be debt-free," Roessler said. "That's exactly what I always intended."
E-mail: mpennino@lnpnews.com
