ENROLLMENT RISING AT A.V. COLLEGE.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

Spring enrollment is up 7.3 percent at Antelope Valley College, putting the school in a good position to pick up as much as $1.5 million in state funding for growth.

There were 9,854 students enrolled for spring courses, an increase of nearly 700 students from last spring. In addition, there was a 6.7 percent increase in the total number of course hours students were enrolled in, climbing to 86,389 this spring.

``Following the 8 percent enrollment increase we had in the fall semester, we're definitely on an upward trend,'' college President Linda Spink said. ``This puts us in a position to receive more than $1 million more for this year's budget from the state.''

College officials say they won't have good estimates until February on how much money the college will receive. That depends on how well other community colleges do in terms of growth.

Since summer, the college has seen enrollment increases, reversing a five-year trend of stagnant or declining enrollment.

An exact cause for the enrollment increase is difficult to pinpoint, college officials said. Possible reasons include increasing the communication and follow-up with prospective students, adjustments to course schedules, increasing offerings of basic skills courses, and efforts to promote the benefits of a college education.

Another effort to boost enrollment was the creation of intersession courses - course offers during what is traditionally the winter break. The college initially planned to offer 51 courses, but dropped 19 of the offerings because of low enrollment.

The intersession courses that did well in terms of enrollment were courses such as music, art, social science, history and political science - classes that could meet core requirements for students transferring to four-year colleges.