MORE STUDENTS, CLASSES AT COLLEGE OF THE CANYONS.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

College of the Canyons' expansion trend will continue in the spring semester, which will begin this month with more class offerings than ever for an enrollment expected to hit an all-time high.

Students will have 1,018 class sections from which to choose, 70 more than were offered during the fall semester that ended in December. Spring classes will start Jan. 19, said campus spokesman John McElwain.

Although early registration has been in progress since Nov. 30 for continuing students, it will conclude today. College of the Canyons uses a computerized telephone registration system. On Saturday, open registration begins, said Nicolas Ferguson, vice president of administrative services at College of the Canyons.

``If we were to continue enrolling students at our current rate, our spring 1999 enrollment might be about 8,800 to 9,000 students,'' said Nancy Mattice, an assistant dean at College of the Canyons. By comparison, there were 7,870 students enrolled during the spring 1998 semester.

In recent years, as California's economy rebounded from the recession of the early 1990s, the state budget has allotted increasingly larger sums of money to the 106-campus community college system. College of the Canyons, because it serves a burgeoning community, has been allowed to grow steadily.

The trend has been for larger enrollments and more class offerings every semester. In spring 1998, class sections totaled 868; there were 760 offered in the fall 1997 semester.

Ferguson said the number of full- and part-time faculty at the college also has increased to keep pace with the student population and the number of courses. This spring, the campus will have about 100 full-time instructors, he said.

``For the very first time . . . we're going to be hiring the faculty in advance of the growth,'' Ferguson noted, explaining that College of the Canyons has been lining up instructors to teach courses that will be offered in the fall.

Such faculty members won't be on the payroll until then, but they will have committed to the college ahead of the usual summer hiring crunch, he explained.

Forecasts are that enrollment is growing at a pace of 15.2 percent, and college officials are trying to be prepared for the demand from students - as well as government and the private sector - about which courses are crucial, Ferguson said.

``I think right now we're the second-fastest-growing community college in the state,'' he said. ``College of the Canyons is expected to grow an average of 10 percent over the next 10 years.''

When students return to class, they also will find renovations in progress on the I and L classroom buildings, but the work won't interrupt instruction, Ferguson said. Plans also are being finalized for the remodeling of the student services building.

Class offerings have expanded in certain subject areas, including the nursing program and the new radio-television program that debuted in the fall semester, Ferguson added.

The expanded curriculum at College of the Canyons also has been drawing older students.

``We have people going to these programs who have Ph.D.s. They're 30, 40, 50 years old, and they're being retrained because what they learned (in college years ago) isn't applicable anymore,'' Ferguson said.