Bunker Hill Community College Takes Extraordinary Measures To Deal with Explosive Enrollment Growth

Friday, September 4, 2009

Bunker Hill Community College President Mary Fifield called an emergency meeting of key staff yesterday when it became apparent that the College was at a breaking point due to the overwhelming student enrollments filling every available course.

In addition to the standard fall class schedule, the College added 108 new class sections over the summer to the schedule. As a result of yesterday’s meeting, 40 new classes were added within 24 hours. These 40 classes will begin on September 14, a week later than the start of the fall semester on September 8.

The College had projected an enrollment increase of seven percent for fall. “Today enrollment is up by 23 percent over last year and still climbing.  We just topped 10,000 students, the highest ever for BHCC,” Fifield said.  “We even have two new classes starting at midnight.  We are holding classes in the Schrafft’s Center, near the College.  Existing faculty are taking on more courses, and we are hiring new faculty as fast as we can locate instructors with appropriate qualifications and experience.” 

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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is one of Massachusetts' largest community colleges, serving approximately 16,000 students annually. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC offers a broad range of educational opportunities throughout Greater Boston. BHCC fosters a welcoming and supportive learning environment for students by offering associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific programs.