GAUTIER, Miss. – Mary Graham, who became the 12th president of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MGCCC) on July 1, said she hopes the college’s enrollment grows by 35 percent to 45 percent in the next 10 years.
The college with eight locations in Jackson, Harrison, George and Stone counties has an enrollment of more than 10,000 students. She said the college touches the lives of about 38,000 students a year when non-credit and work force training programs are added to the enrollment.
Graham thinks much of the growth will come from population growth.
She cautions, “If you have another Katrina and wipe out Harrison County that certainly affects our enrollment.”
Graham said the student population is changing as online courses become more popular.
“I think our online market will double,” she said.
Graham said she prefers a “hybrid student” who has online courses but continues to come to campus “so that you actually have face-to-face time.”
