For most colleges, enrollment numbers arrive quietly. They come as another spreadsheet, another report, another percentage point up or down. For the past two years at Paris Junior College, the numbers have been harder to ignore.

PJC has enrolled 5,859 students across its three locations this fall, continuing a two-year growth trend that has added roughly 1,300 students to the College. Last fall, enrollment grew by 15%, and this fall the growth is more than 14%. With enrollment still open for the second eight-week term, the possibility of crossing 6,000 students remains very real. That would mark one of the highest enrollment totals in PJC history.

The growth comes after several difficult years for higher education. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Paris Junior College, like many colleges across Texas, experienced an enrollment decline. In the years that followed, PJC began to recover, helped by increased dual credit participation, workforce programs, and a renewed focus on student success.

At the same time, the College expanded its work through the Texas Pathways Initiative, placing greater emphasis on helping students persist, complete credentials, transfer, and move successfully into the workforce.

But PJC's recent growth has also been accompanied by a more visible and intentional effort to tell the College's story throughout the region.

The College has significantly increased its marketing and advertising efforts, expanded its presence on social media, strengthened student recruiting, and worked to engage more directly with ISD partners, businesses, community organizations, and prospective students. New academic and workforce programs have been developed in response to student and employer needs, while existing programs and opportunities are being promoted to audiences that may not have previously considered PJC.

In June 2024, Dr. Stephen Benson became president of Paris Junior College. Under his leadership, the College has continued its focus on student success while placing increased emphasis on growth, partnerships, visibility, and creating a stronger sense of identity and energy across its three locations.

“There is a new energy at Paris Junior College, and I think people throughout our region can feel it,” Benson said. “We have been much more intentional about telling our story. Ultimately, growth happens because people believe in what we are doing. Our employees believe in our mission, our communities are embracing the College, and more students are seeing PJC as a place where they can build a better future.”

That energy is also reflected in the College's message to students and the communities it serves: “Make Yourself At Home.”

This fall, nearly 6,000 students have done exactly that.

They are high school students earning college credit. They are students beginning a traditional college journey. They are working adults returning for new skills or credentials. They are students preparing to transfer, enter the workforce, or simply take the next step in their lives. Together, they have pushed PJC enrollment to levels not seen in years.

Enrollment remains open for the second eight-week block of fall courses, giving the College another opportunity to move beyond the 6,000-student mark. If that happens, PJC would be approaching some of the largest enrollment totals in its history, including the record-setting enrollment reported in 2010.

For Benson, however, the significance of the growth goes beyond a final enrollment number.

“Of course we are excited about the numbers, but 5,859 isn't just an enrollment statistic—it represents 5,859 individual students who have trusted us with part of their future,” Benson said. “Our responsibility now is to make sure they feel at home here, that they know they belong, and that we give every one of them the support and opportunities they need to be successful. Growth is exciting, but the impact we make on those students and our communities is what really matters.”

The current growth reflects the continued expansion of opportunity across the College and the communities it serves. For 5,859 students—and counting—this fall, PJC represents a place to begin, a place to finish, and a place to succeed.

A place to make themselves at home.