As the state's economy grows stronger and more people are finding work, many community colleges are experiencing lower enrollment, according to the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, but expansions of departments at South Seattle Community College are not only enhancing campus enrollment but are also drawing in a wider range of students, says Dr. Jill Wakefield, the college president.

Nursing program expands

A federal grant of more than $700,000 from the U.S. Department of Labor has recently been approved for the college's nursing program. The funding is based on the strong and apparent need to fill those types of positions in Washington and the rest of the country, says Mike Munson, director of communications for South.

The goal, says Wakefield, is to use part of the funds to start a registered nurse program along with additions to the current nursing programs; certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse certifications. In the process, the college will acquire two new nursing instructors and $100,000 for the latest training equipment.

"There are presently only 35 students who are admitted to our (licensed practical nurse) program each year in the summer quarter," says Collette Swan, director of the nursing programs. "The grant will provide us funding to admit another (licensed practical nurse) program with an additional 40 students each year in the winter quarter."

There are plans to admit 60 registered nurse students in the next few years, says Swan, but the addition of the registered nurse program is pending on approval by the state Nursing Commission.

"As a result of the grant, it is expected that about 180 new students will be admitted over the next three years," says Swan. "We currently admit only 35 licensed practical nurse students (a year)."

Wakefield says the college was awarded the grant in part for their integrated model of program instruction.

"There is a high demand for English as a second language instruction within the nursing programs," she says. "Students in the nursing program would take English as a second language classes before beginning the program."

In response to that need, the college faculty and advisors created an integrated model of teaching that combines English as a second language instruction within the nursing classes as a way to enhance the learning and efficiency of the students and the program, says Wakefield.

"There is a huge shortage of these programs at schools," says Swan, adding that most colleges, including South, have long waiting lists for their nursing programs.

The money is part of a federal $2.8 million community job-training grant and South has received the fourth highest grant in the nation.

Northwest Wine Academy

Another addition to South is the first and only enology and viticulture program at a college in the Puget Sound region, the Northwest Wine Academy.

Created to meet industry demand for wine technology training on the western side of the state, the new facility is called the Puget Ridge Winery and was created in 2004. There are similar programs at Walla Walla Community College and Washington State University.

"This is where people are drinking the wine and it definitely ties into the community and will bring people in from other areas as well," says Wakefield.

The program is offered through the college's culinary arts program. Students can get short-term certificates and associate of applied arts degrees in wine making, wine marketing and sales and food and wine pairing.

Classes in marketing, sales and food pairing began last fall but delays in acquiring a license from the state liquor board kept the wine making classes at bay until this fall.

All three of the classes have their own audience, says Paul Magnant, dean of technical departments.

"There are a lot of students enrolled now, and it's just going to grow, the interest has been tremendous," he says. "This program will absolutely help South expand its enrollment. There are so many people making wine out of their garage, but these people need professional training and we are the only community college in the area that offers it."

Wakefield says they plan to develop a transfer program with Washington State University for students who want to earn a bachelors degree in wine technology.

Washington is the nation's second largest wine producer and contributes billions to the state's economy. Production of wine in this state has doubled during the past decade, according to the Washington Wine Commission.

"We are so uniquely positioned, as far as the consumers," says Magnant, adding that according to the state health department, Seattle has 90 percent of all food service licenses in the state.

Culinary Arts renovations

The wine technology classes could crossover to classes in the college's award-winning culinary arts program, says Wakefield.

Now that opportunity has been made a little easier since the campus' pastry and baking arts training facility just received a $2.6 million renovation, including a new lecture and demonstration classroom, a $27,000 rotating oven, renovations to the baking and pastry labs, storage space and for chocolate lovers everywhere - a chocolate lab.

The old space was inadequate for the number of students enrolled with the program, says Munson.

"There are substantial waiting lists for my programs," says Magnant. "The industry is just booming!"

Magnant believes people are becoming increasingly "time poor," and one of the ways they are making up for this is through food service; more people are going out to eat more and cooking at home less.

"There is this great big wave of the food culture here in this country," he says. "I feel our culture is experiencing a paradigmatic shift, and it's changing the framework of how we think. These things are driving the industry and as a result the industry needs trained people."

Thanks to the renovations, Magnant says he is now in a position to increase the program's size and meet the unmet demand, but says that could require more instructors and possibly more funding from the state.

Bachelor of applied science proposal

If the college is selected as one of four pilot institutions by the state, students will be able to get a bachelor of applied science in hospitality management through classes taught at South.

But the school must show the state there is a regional need for the degree. Wakefield says advisors and faculty who studied and surveyed hotels and people in the business discovered the industry is booming here and people are hiring in the hotel management and service industry.

"Another difference is that we would expect the bachelor of applied science program to draw students from a wider area than the South service community," says Munson.

"This is a major step for South," says Magnant. "It attracts people here for school and then allows them to stay here in work."

University Center construction

Construction is planned in the next few weeks for the new University Center.

"We plan to offer an opportunity for area residents to take courses there that lead to a bachelor's degree through partnerships with four-year institutions," says Munson.

About 50 percent of the people in Seattle have bachelor's degrees, but in our service area only about 29 percent do, says Wakefield. She hopes the new program will encourage more people in and around West and South Seattle to continue their education.

Since it is the responsibility of a community college to stay hip to the communities needs, South often relies on technical advisors, faculty and community newspapers to learn about what is happening beyond the campus to draw in all kinds of people with various interests, says Wakefield.

"It's really a combination of help from both of those parties and just staying alert," says Munson. "We are a little more nimble than the large university institutions where it can be harder to adjust the course of a ship that large," says Munson.

"The enrollment of South and other community colleges is fluid," says Wakefield. "It reflects the needs of the community and job needs in the area. That should be the function of community colleges."

During the last five years that Munson has been director of communications at South he has noticed a steady growth in enrollment and programs. He estimates about a 15 percent increase, and he doesn't see it stopping anytime soon.

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at 932.0300 or rebekah@robinsonnews.com.