2000

I East Central SeniOr Day pays off f By Austin Bishop The Meridian Star 1... " I DECATUR- East Central

Senior Day The fol lowing is a graphic of the number of students from East Can· tral's five-county district who attend– ed one of the school's two senior days School Carthage Seniors Attending Pet 62 48 77

Community College's dean of stu– dents said he was pleased with the fact that 979 s t u d e n t s .---------,

showed up for the two-year school's pair of LL Senior Days 0 last month, but what pleases ~ him even more W is the fact that W it is likely that 3:

Carth. Christian Choctaw Central Edinburg Forest Grace Christian Lake Leake Academy Louisville Morton NanihWaiya Neshoba Central Newton Newton Academy Newton County Noxapater Philadelphia Pleasant Grove Aca. Scott Central Sebastopol South Leake Thomastown Union Winston Academy

4 2 50 70 22 31 35 21 60 86 86 100 4 0 0 41 33 80 46 45 98 116106 91 55 15 '27 18 9 50 138108 78 67 57 85 26 18 69 102 93 91 31 31 100 54 44 81 2 0 0 54 40 74 33 31 94 50 48 96 34 28 82 36 32 89 37 23 62

nearly 80 per- cent of those will actually Lee become ECCC students.

"We recruit very personally," said Randall Lee, ECCC's dean of students. "We have a good idea of who is and who isn't interested in us. "The key to all of this success recruiting is personalized atten– tion. I know that's a cliche, but we live it here," Lee said. "The num– ber one priority at this college is recruiting, from the president on down." . The school has had at least 840 students attend its senior days for each ofthe last five years. "All data shows that if you get students on campus they are more likely t.o attend the college, that's why we take it so seriously," Lee said. A lot of the high schools bus the students in and send along span– son; as well. "We nre very hnppy when they do that," LL'I! twid "[ would say thnt 130 p•trn:nl of Uw ochools do that. Whl~.\'r)tt g0t tlw Hponsor

Special to · SENIOR DAY- High School students swarm ovN lhe East Central Campus during the two senior days the two-year school hosted in Apr 1

ship here it helps."

There are 24 high schools in East Central Community College's five-county district. The counties in the district are Newton, Leake, Winston, Newton and Neshoba. Two high schools, Forest and Noxapater had each of its seniors attend one of the Senior Days. Neshoba Central had the largest number pruticipate at 108, while Louisville High School sent 106. "We were just unhappy with one "lchool this year, but the other schools with lower numbers arc ·- ---

actually higher than they were because we have a lot of e~access in last year," he said. retaining students o111·• thl'y get East Central has had an enroll- here," Lee said. "Thr1t ~ the key ment increase each of the last 15 real." 1 years. The school had 1,442 stu- H e said accordin~: •o studies dents in 1994 and currently has over the last two yenr.1 rllat ECCC 2,228 students. ranks as the best COtllllllmity col- Lee said he estimates ECCC leges in the state wht·•i 1t comes to gets between 55 to 60 percent of all retention rate of ful ·time stu-

among the top two commw leges in the state when it c transfer grade point ave1 points to one of the school's tant strengths. Transfel point average is what mE how well community colle dents fare once they got t< colleges. Austin Bishop is a staff writer fo1

seniors in its district.

dents,

mbine that Meridian Star. E-mail him at 111 ,,nn~v abishop@meridianstar.com.

Le» said wbun .y1HJ

"We odieve East Central will

continue to grow in enrol1mcnt with the fnd_I~CGI

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