![](https://www.wjbc.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/389/2021/07/Heartland-1024x575.jpg)
By WMBD-TV
NORMAL – Heartland Community College’s enrollment numbers are gradually creeping up each year. This year the college had 4,589 students enrolled on the 10th day or census date. This is almost a 1.5% increase from last fall.
Steve Fast, Assistant to the President for Public Information, said the population is closer to what they had before the pandemic. On the census date for Spring 2020 the college had 4,656 students.
Fast also said this is the second year in a row of having the most diverse student body in Heartland’s history.
“We try to break down barriers between traditionally under represented populations all throughout our community who haven’t had a chance to attain a college degree or to attain long term certification through a college. We are seeing more and more students come in and have those barriers overcome and get to pursue their educational goals.”
This fall the college introduced a certification program for cannabis cultivation. The college will continue its growth with the opening of the Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center and a new agriculture building in Spring 2024.