Craig Daily Press

Craig — The end is in sight for Jeremy Rollins.

Rollins, Bank of Colorado loan administrative assistant, is one semester away from finishing his Associate of Arts in businesses administration at Colo­rado Northwestern Community College.

He said he plans to register for classes in about one week.

If past patterns hold true this year, the college should start seeing its enrollment numbers increase in the next few weeks.

The pace is about to pick up at the Colorado Northwestern Community College’s Craig campus, registrar technician Mindy Shue said.

“We’re just getting ready for the rush,” said Shue, who works out of the Craig campus.

A rise in enrollment signals the first day of fall semester classes are around the corner.

“This is usually the busiest time of the year,” Shue said.

Fall classes begin Aug. 25. Several registration sessions are scheduled before students start filling classroom seats. The first round of registration is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21 at the college’s Bell Tower Building, 50 College Drive.

As of Thursday, 74 students were enrolled at CNCC’s Craig campus, said Judy Allred, CNCC institutional research director.

The majority of those already enrolled are returning students, Shue said, who are continuing their education in one of the college’s programs.

Programs in automotive technology and business and banking are the newest additions to the college’s course offerings this fall. The former program allows students to earn certificates in basic and advanced automotive technologies, while the latter offers an associate’s degree and a banking certificate.

Students enroll at the college for a variety of reasons, said Mary Morris-Shearer, community education director at the Craig campus.

“I’ve noticed a number of students coming in (who) are thinking about going into our programs and want to finish off some of the” pre-requisite classes, she said.

Morris-Shearer said students also enroll at the college in preparation for education at larger universities.

The Colorado Statewide Trans­fer Program allows students to earn some of their general education credits at CNCC before transferring to public four-year colleges and universities across the state.

Credit transfer under this policy isn’t guaranteed.

“We do encourage our students to check with their transfer institutions to make sure that all of their credits will transfer,” Morris-Shearer said.

CNCC has had “tremendous success” with the transfer program, she said.