Pasco-Hernando State College’s Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch has hit another milestone.
The campus hit the 3,000 mark for enrollment for the coming term. Stan Giannet, provost at Porter Campus, announced the milestone during a town hall session sponsored by the college and the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 14.
The campus opened two years ago, with 1,800, exceeding its expectations at that time, Giannet said, in an interview after the town hall session.
From the beginning, the campus has been entrepreneurial with its scheduling, he said.
(File Photo)
“We opened very aggressively, with an opportunity for students to take classes from 8 o’clock in the morning until 9:40 at night, Monday through Thursday, and from 8 o’clock until 4:30 on Friday, with a generous opportunity for online sections and hybrid sections,” Giannet said.
“We continued to build on that schedule, with community needs, student needs, student feedback and faculty feedback, of course, in our schedule building – and what our students are telling us they need,” he said.
The college keeps a close eye on projected work force needs, and offers courses designed to help students be prepared for those opportunities, Giannet said.
The college has added a program that helps licensed paramedics make the transition to becoming nurses.
It also is planning to add the CISCO Academy certification courses, a prestigious designation in the Information Technology field.
That program exists at PHSC’s West Campus, but is being brought to the Porter Campus as well, Giannet said. Wiregrass Ranch High School, which is right behind the Porter Campus, has an IT academy.
“You know, with the proliferation of new businesses coming to the Wesley Chapel area, that networking, IT, will be very fruitful for potential graduates,” Giannet said.
Giannet said the college is seeking to prepare students to take advantage of the new opportunities that are coming to Wesley Chapel.
“We’re excited about all these things that are happening – the expansion of Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, (the opening of) Tampa Premium Outlets, more and more medical establishments coming to the area, the hotels and hospitality, the hockey rink, the schools, the new subdivisions and the development,” Giannet said.
“Those will just give opportunities for our students to be on the front line of employment opportunity.”
Published October 21, 2015
