North Idaho College: The Turnaround

North Idaho College is finally seeing a surge in students, a complete turnaround from the last decade. For years, NIC was losing students. Enrollment dropped every year and the numbers were not looking good, but this year enrollment was up by 15% from the previous year with over 4, 590 students enrolled in the fall semester. Swayne, the president of the college, said he expects another big increase this spring of around 23%. So what changed? . Swayne said they have been focusing on recruiting and working with high schools. They were able to stabilize the governance at the college. They stopped filling vacant positions in the past to save money. Now they are filling those positions as students come back. This year North Idaho College has also made a tough decision. They decided to cut the men's and women’s golf teams which will save $600, 000. This is part of a bigger plan to reduce athletics spending by about $1. 8 million over the next two years. Swayne said the budget for athletics ballooned under the last board and now they are getting it under control. Swayne thinks that the college will have over 6, 000 students next year. This is the first time enrollment numbers are rising. This time last year enrollment numbers were down. This is a big deal for the college as they have been struggling with numbers for over a decade. It was a tough time for the college. There was lots of bad news, but now the college is getting back on track. Swayne thinks the college will be back on track in a year. He thinks the enrollment will be back to over 6, 000 students. The college has been through a lot. They have been through a lot of challenges, but they are finally seeing a turnaround. The college is finally seeing a surge in students. Swayne said that the college is finally seeing a surge in students. The college is finally seeing a turnaround.