College of the Canyons’ course offerings are expanding with late-start classes on the fall schedule in order to meet an increasing demand for college access, officials said Thursday.

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“In an effort to increase access to educational opportunities, College of the Canyons will address the growing demands for class sections by offering students a wide array of late-start classes during the fall 2014 semester,” according to a news release.

More than 140 additional sections are being offered. These additions address a variety of student needs, ranging from core math and science requirements, to electives and career technical education classes.

“While a few late classes have already begun, many are slated to begin as late as Oct. 21, giving students an extra opportunity to accomplish their educational goals during the fall semester,” according to a news release.

College of the Canyons is on track to grow its overall student enrollment by 3.75 percent during the 2014-15 academic year.

This is the second year of enrollment growth, and it is an encouraging sign after a prolonged period of cuts brought about by state funding reductions forced the college to trim classes and limit access to students.

“We are seeing a surge of demand from students across the board,” said COC Chancellor Dr. Dianne Van Hook. “Whether they need classes required to transfer to a four-year campus, or want to get equipped with the skills to launch a career, students are rushing back to College of the Canyons now that we have the funding to expand our enrollment.”

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Late-start classes are just one way the college meets the need for more classes. Before the fall semester started Aug. 25, the college added nearly 50 classes to the schedule to accommodate students on waitlists.

During the fall registration period, class waitlists are carefully monitored. When the number of students on an individual waitlist nearly equals the capacity of a full-size class, the college works to identify a course instructor and classroom location to facilitate the addition of an extra class section. As a result, approximately 2,000 of 3,329 students on waitlists were moved into the nearly 50 new class sections.

“Quite a bit of time was spent analyzing what courses are in the most demand for students,” said Daylene Meuschke, COC Director of Institutional Research. “We do this by looking at the statistics and listening to the students. That coordinated effort is keeping students involved on campus and enrollment numbers up.”

Enrollment numbers thus far have been impressive; with a 91 percent fill rate — or 47,543 classroom seats filled.

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