On the heels of being ranked the number one college in the country for the third year in a row by Wallethub, State Technical College of Missouri has set another enrollment record.  On Tuesday, Aug. 24, State Tech welcomed a record-breaking number of students to campus, eclipsing 2,000 students for the first time. This is the school’s fourth consecutive overall enrollment record and fifth year of record first-year enrollment.

“State Tech was founded in 1961, and to cross the 2,000 student threshold on our 60th anniversary makes it all the more memorable,” said State Tech President Dr. Shawn Strong. “State Tech now has over half a million square feet under roof and 500 acres. I would like to think Thurman Willet would be proud of what he started as Linn Technical Junior College in the back of Linn R-2 and former President Dr. Don Claycomb grew into the current State Technical College of Missouri.”

A total of 2,037 students equals a 5% increase from last year. Over the last five years, State Tech’s enrollment has grown 61%. 

Dr. Strong is excited about the increase in enrollment and what it means to be the number one college in the country. 

“How are we able to keep this growth up year after year?  It is really about value proposition,” he said. “Our mission is to prepare students for profitable employment and a life of learning. Every employee at State Tech knows this and lives the mission. Our amazing employees make it possible. When it comes to outstanding technical education no one does it better than State Tech.”

What makes this new record even more impressive is the non-traditional recruiting class State Tech just experienced. Due to COVID-19, there were very few bus tours to campus and the college had very limited on-site access to high schools. Dr. Strong said that faculty, admissions, and marketing teams stepped up with the addition of a brand-new website and a new online virtual tour. 

“We are so excited to have so many new students on campus this fall,” said Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Chris Bowser. “Students have discovered that State Tech is the place to go if you want to graduate and get a job. It really is a team effort. A shout out to the entire team at State Tech for making this happen.” 

State Tech is prepared for the increase in students with the creation of new academic buildings as well as new parking lots, but traffic could be slow for the first few days of the academic year. 

“We know the traffic can be a hassle for a few weeks until everyone gets the timing down,” said Dr. Strong. “In my discussions with MoDOT, funding to address the congestion around the college has been built into the 2024 budget. I am told that is the first step, the allocation of funding.”

Just last week, WalletHub named State Tech the number one two-year college in the country. WalletHub ranked nearly 700 colleges across the nation.  In determining its rankings, WalletHub considered a variety of factors broken down into three main categories: Career Outcomes, Education Outcomes, and Cost and Financing.