Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s spring 2010 enrollment is up 14.1 percent to 5,852 since this time last year, when Coosa Valley Tech and Northwestern Tech had a combined enrollment of 5,128. This is an increase of 724 students for the merged schools.

Stuart Phillips, vice president of Student Affairs at GNTC, believes the college’s growth will continue throughout this year as the economy continues to struggle.

“Many students are seeking an opportunity to prepare for the workforce,” said Phillips. “Others may have been laid off and are trying to take advantage of an opportunity to prepare for a new career. Whether it is registered nursing or truck driving, prospective students know that there is a very good chance of employment after completing one of our majors.”

Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Floyd County Campus has 2,357 students enrolled, with 749 at the Gordon County Campus, 267 at the Polk County Campus and 2,479 at the Walker County Campus.

The student body of GNTC is represented by many age groups, with 60 percent of the students 30 years and younger and 22 percent of those students under 21.

GNTC has 2,991 students enrolled full time and 2,861 enrolled part time at the college. Some 2,392 students enrolled in at least one online class, with the average age of the online student being 31 years old.

Statewide, spring enrollment in Georgia’s 28 technical colleges is up by 19 percent over the same time last year.

Initial numbers posted by the technical colleges indicate that the current spring enrollment of 107,269 students is 17,381 more than in the previous spring quarter of 2009, when 89,888 students attended classes on the tech school campuses.