craigdailypress.com

In about a week Colorado Northwestern Community College officials will know exactly which direction community members want them to go.

It will take that long to tabulate the results of a survey put before the community in November.

CNCC-Craig spokeswoman Mary Shearer said she didn't know how many surveys were returned, but she did know that Craig residents returned more than any other community in CNCC's service area.

Those targeted by the survey included business and industry, community members, educational providers, elected officials and faculty and staff in Craig, Meeker, Hayden, Rangely and South Routt.

Members of the president's Cabinet are compiling results and plan to have them completed by next week.

The data collected will be used in the creation of the college's three-year strategic plan, which the school is required to file with the state as part of the accreditation process CNCC undergoes every 10 years.

"CNCC is the community," Shearer said. "It's driven by the community and directly impacts so many members of our community."

Fall enrollment for the Craig campus was 155.94 full-time equivalency students -- equaling a head count of 802 students. That's 18 percent more than last fall's enrollment.

"I would wager almost all of them are Moffat County residents," Shearer said. "There's a tremendous local impact, not just educational but economic. We need to voice Moffat County's needs and desires because we are a big part of CNCC."

For the fall semester, 1,771 students are enrolled at CNCC across its service area, which includes Rangely, Craig, Meeker, Hayden and southern Routt County. Included in the head count are dual credit-taking high school juniors and seniors taking college classes for high school and college credit.

Of those, 1,648 are Colorado students.