Opinion250 file photo

Prince George, B.C. - Classes start today for students at the College of New Caledonia, and the year is off to a strong start enrolment-wise.

CNC Spokesperson, Andrea Johnson, says "We (have) had to add 10 new classes due to a huge demand in several of our core courses for this fall."

Johnson says the extra classes are all university transfer courses, such as English, Psychology and Criminology, and create an additional 250 seats at CNC.  Last year, eight classes were added in an effort to move potential students from wait lists to the classroom.

While final enrolment figures won't be known until early October, after the final registration deadline has passed, Johnson says the college saw a 4.5-percent increase (164 full-time students) last year, compared to 2008-09.

"Overall," she says, "We're pretty excited with this growth and with this interest in CNC and we hope it continues."

According to the Ministry of Advanced Education, more than 440-thousand students are enroled in B.C.'s public post-secondary institutes this fall -- the highest number ever.

The Ministry says the average tuition for a full-time undergrad last year was $4,840-dollars -- the government has, once again, placed a two-percent cap on tuition fee increases this year.

To welcome them, students at CNC's Prince George campus will be able to take advantage of a twoonie BBQ over the lunch-hour -- it may also 'welcome' many to the start of the financial penny-pinching that often goes hand-in-hand with post-secondary pursuits.