It’s back to school time, and more people than ever will be heading to one school in particular.

Tidewater Community College announced Monday that it has a double-digit enrollment increase for the upcoming fall semester. There is a 25 percent increase in enrollment compared to this time last year.

According to a TCC press release, TCC President Deborah M. DiCroce broke the news to the college’s faculty and staff during her State of the College address at the school’s annual Convocation, held at the beginning of each year.

“Never before has the spotlight been more brightly focused on community colleges nationally and TCC locally,” DiCroce said. She added TCC is “in the midst of a virtual tsunami of individuals from all walks of life turning to us to help them navigate these raging waters toward calmer seas.”

DiCroce said that what makes this enrollment hike even more impressive is that all types of student enrollment have risen – not just one kind of student. For example, there have been increased enrollments from students planning to transfer to four-year institutions, students preparing to enter the workforce as well as higher enrollments for veterans taking advantage of the new post 9-11 GI Bill.

Growth is not new for the community college.

According to the press release, TCC has grown about 60 percent in fulltime-equivalent students in the past 11 years, which is approximately the same as adding a new college the size of the state’s third-largest community college.

All of these growing numbers have made TCC the 15th largest producer of associate degrees in the country, according to a national ranking. This ranking is of more than 1,500 schools across the country. Additionally, TCC also now ranks 13th in the nation among two-year colleges in associate degrees awarded to African American students.

For more information, visit www.tcc.edu.