Enrollment numbers on the rise

Pierce College enrollment numbers are up by 3 percent this spring

Academic Affairs Mary Ann Gavarra-Oh.

dance, journalism, health finance, music, Spanish, and theater.

“They can see the quality of our work and become aware of us,” Gend said. “It’s also a great opportunity for our students that are planning to transfer because they will be able to meet with representatives from fouryear colleges.”

Theater Manager Michael Sande said this competition gives the student actors the golden moment to showcase their skills to not only universities but to professionals as well.

“It gives [the students] a chance to attend workshops, go to seminars, and even meet with casting agents,”

Sande said. “It really is an incredible opportunity for students.”

Vaaz hopes that by having a play selected to compete at the KCACTF, it gives the theater department a boost of confidence going forward.

“I hope the theater department sees how strong it is and that it can take itself seriously,” Vaaz said. “Right now it feels like we are much bigger and more established as a department. I want us to notice that we have real talent and amazing people who work here.”

If you have seen a Pierce College ad on your social media feed this winter, it wasn’t an accident.

From Jan. 10 to Feb. 4 ,several departments at Pierce ran boosted social media posts about registering for open classes for spring semester.

This was a beta test aimed to increase enrollment numbers in multiple departments.

In that time, the classes advertised saw an increase of 106 percent in number of students enrolled, according to Dean of

Gavarra-Oh added that out of a set of 300 classes with low enrollment, below the point where the class would be canceled for lack of students, 50 were chosen from various departments.

“We can’t yet say there’s a true correlative effect between the posts and enrollment,” said Public Relations Manager Doreen Clay. “It was an impressive beta test, but we need to continue testing to find out if it’s really the way we want to go.”

Clay also said that the classes chosen were a mix of academic and arts related departments, including but not limited to: art, English,

“What these boosted posts do is, for a fee, they will make the post appear in the feeds of people who have interests in the areas you specify in the boost,” Michael Gend, the chairman of the performing arts department explained.

“I come up with keywords for theater ads that include words like ‘acting’ or ‘theater’. I even use names of other colleges that might have similar programs to ours,” Gend said.

Gend said he created motion graphics posts for some classes and observed a definite improvement in enrollment.

“Motion graphics attract the eyes more,” Gend said. “I took classes to learn how to make effective posts, and then had to learn how to make motion graphics from video and still images.”

Gend said it was a lot of work to put together, which might require a dedicated person or persons other than teachers to handle on a regular basis.

Clay said hiring a social media manager would be beneficial, but requires funding.

“It’s a matter of resources and having the money to hire new people,” Clay said hdavis.roundupnews@gmail.com