January 9, 2023 3:20 a.m.

The 2022 fall term at Umpqua Community College saw the largest attendance numbers since the pandemic.

A college release said the school had an 18 percent increase in students, with 4,505 in attendance. The total undergraduate credit student headcount went up by nearly 9 percent to 2,157 credit students.

UCC Communications and Marketing Director Suzi Pritchard said enrollment has increased across all programs, from associate degrees that transfer to universities to shorter-term certificates in career ready pathways like truck driving, welding and phlebotomy. Pritchard said new programming for high school students in automotive, theatre and emergency services are also contributing factors to the increased enrollment. Courses have also been developed to especially serve local employers like the leadership boot camp program.

UCC President Dr. Rachel Pokrandt said, “Its great to see our numbers rebounding because each of these increases represents a life changed and increased economic success for Douglas County”. Pokrandt said, “We expect to see our impact increase as we add medical and technical trade programs in the coming years”.

Pritchard said the increase in attendance is attributed to the campus reopening and being accessible to the public following state of Oregon mandates to close face-to-face teaching and operations for an extended period during the pandemic.