Dr. Gregory Williams
In a sea of declining enrollment numbers at community colleges across America, and an 11% two-year decline in Texas’s community college fall enrollments, Odessa College (OC) is bucking the trend. The college, now entering its 75th year, has increased its fall enrollment for seven years in a row.
Enrollment in fall 2015 was 5,568 students. In fall 2020, at the peak of the pandemic, the college experienced a 2.9% increase to their enrollment. By fall 2021, their enrollment numbers had grown to 8,020.
Since Dr. Gregory Williams began his tenure as OC's president in January 2007, he began exploring new ways to target not only traditional students, just out of high school, but bring in new, non-traditional students and keep them enrolled.
The college changed their courses to operate on an eight-week schedule, and they created technical baccalaureate degree programs. They began training faculty to become more involved in the student’s whole experience. Starting in 2013, any first-time student could enroll in their first class entirely for free.
The college also built creative partnerships and invested financial resources in infrastructure. Some of OC's community partners include a local car dealership and The University of Texas: Permian Basin (UTPB). Together, they're working to create a student success initiative called “Drive to Success,” a system of points rewarded to students for participating in activities that benefit their educational experience. Those points translate into entries to win a brand-new Ford Mustang given away to a student once a year.
“We partner with everyone,” said Williams, in an effort to keep the region working toward the same goal: education. UTPB is right next door and many of their students get their start at OC.
