Holda talks to Lions about Kilgore College

Dr. Bill Holda talked about KC’s programs, progress and concerns for the future. In its 75th year, Kilgore College has record enrollment numbers and offers more classes than ever, according to the college president who spoke to the Lions Club on Wednesday.

Dr. Bill Holda credits the bad economy for the growth, adding this semester’s enrollment of 6,375 students is a record.

“When there is any type of recession and layoffs, people look to change careers and junior colleges are a good place to turn to,” said Holda. “With a full semester load of courses for under $500, including tuition and fees, it’s a great opportunity.”

He noted there has been a 15 percent growth in enrollment in each of the past three years.

“But with this growth, the college has to look how to better serve its students,” he said.

Adding more afternoon and evening classes is something KC is looking at, said Holda, who explained some colleges are even offering midnight classes and one college is offering weekend colleges, taking a week’s worth of courses in just one weekend.

Another area that has taken off in the past five years is dual-credit classes.

“Students are now graduating from high school with as much as 30 to 45 college credit hours,” said Holda.

These courses are being offered at only $75 for a three-hour semester course, and for 20 classes or one year of college it can cost the family only $1,500, the president explained.

“When our dual-credit program started KC had approximately 75 students, today KC has over 1,100 dual-credit students,” said Holda.

Another area taking off is hybrid or online courses where a student has very little or no contact with an instructor but does all the classes on the computer, making it a selfpaced program.

At KC, 55 percent of students are preparing to attain a four-year degree and the other 45 percent are looking at technical schools or certificate programs where they can enter the workforce in only one to two years, said Holda.

He said KC serves 20 public school districts, but only seven of those are taxing districts, meaning 13 school districts are paying out of district fees to go to KC.

“Currently any out-of-district KC student is paying two times more for classes then indistrict students,” said Holda. “But with harder times and a projected $14- to $18- billion deficit in the Texas budget, funds are going to get harder to come by for higher education.”

If this projection is correct and funds get tighter, the out-of-district fees will most likely go to three times the cost of in-district student tuition and fees, said Holda.

Holda closed by saying KC wants to be an asset to the community it serves, offering some services for free and providing the best cost-effective education a student can get in the State of Texas.