Columbia College students will be returning to campus next week.
Columbia College president Dr. David Russell briefed business leaders and Columbia/Boone County elected officials at Wednesday’s Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) board meeting. Dr. Russell tells 939 the Eagle that Columbia College will have about 9,000 students overall this fall:
“When you look at our online presence as well as our day class and our evening classes, you’re talking about a total of 9,000 students,” Dr. Russell says.
Historic Columbia College, which opened in 1851, will be celebrating its 175th anniversary next year. They’ll also be offering a new degree this fall: a master’s degree in social work. Columbia College president Dr. David Russell made the announcement Wednesday at the REDI board meeting:
“We had courses at the undergraduate level in social work. This is the first time we’ve attempted to do a graduate program in social work. And we’ve discovered that there is a huge demand out there that we are tapping. We filled up the first class of about 20 to 30 students overnight,” President Russell says.
Dr. Russell says the new degree will meet a need, especially among nonprofit organizations. He also says Columbia College expects to have continued growth in that program in the next several years.