Enrollment has jumped, in some cases dramatically, at most two-year colleges across the state.

Montana State University Billings College of Technology’s full-time-equivalent enrollment went up a whopping 61 percent this fall over last year.

At UM-Helena, the FTE increase wasn’t that steep, but it was still impressive — 22 percent higher this fall than last. The total number of students, which administrators pegged at 1,318 in October, increased 41 percent in three years.

Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell saw the number of FTE students on campus this fall rise by nearly 38 percent.

While the recession has had something to do with that increase, it may not be the only reason more students are signing up at community colleges.

Traditionally when the economy goes bad, two-year colleges see enrollment increases, said Barry Good, dean of the University of Montana-Missoula College of Technology.

That’s happened in Montana, too.

FVCC is located in a county with some of the highest unemployment in the state.

Some students at two-year schools are workers who have their lost jobs and are going to school to retrain for another career.

Even if a potential student hasn’t lost his job, the downturn may have reminded him that now would be a good time to upgrade skills, said Dan Carter, director of university relations at MSU Billings.

“The economy gave people a push,” he said.

With jobs harder to find, more students right out of high school are going directly to college instead of working for a year or two.

When money is tight, students and their families also may be looking for a less-expensive route to a college degree.

Two-year schools within the Montana University System cost about 30 percent less than tuition and fees at four-year campuses, said Mary Moe, deputy commissioner for two-year education in Helena.

In-state students at MSU Billings College of Technology, for example, pay about $3,660 for two semesters, compared with about $5,200 at the main campus.

Not only does that make getting a two-year degree in auto mechanics or nursing more affordable, but a two-year school is a cheaper place to start a four-year degree, too.

The recession doesn’t tell the whole story.

In a poll taken at the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology this fall, 56 percent of students said that the economy did not affect their decision to go to school, said Barbara McAlmond, the college’s director of marketing and communications.

Deans and other administrators say that an expanding curriculum has attracted students, too.

Two-year schools are more nimble than four-year universities and can more quickly add programs meet demands of the job market, such as UM Missoula COT’s new computer-aided design program and a one-year certificate in wind-energy technology at UM-College of Technology in Butte.

“Two-year colleges can turn on a dime,” said John Garic, dean of the Butte COT.

Another factor is that two-year colleges in Montana are finally coming into their own, Garic said.

Over the last several years, the Montana University System and the state Legislature have spent more time and money pumping up two-year education in the state.

What many Montanans have thought of as vocational-technical schools in the past have become comprehensive community colleges that launch students into good-paying jobs or four-year degrees, said Mary Moe, deputy commissioner for higher education in Helena.

To make transferring to a four-year campus easier, the university system, with the help of the Legislature, has developed a centralized system that shows students which classes will transfer from one school to another.

Only about 35 percent of Montana residents ages 25 to 34 now have a two-year degree or higher — slightly less than the national figure of 39 percent. To keep up with leading countries of the world, 55 percent of Americans in that age group should have higher education degrees.

“We’ve got work to do,” Moe said.

Colleges of technology helped increase their parent four-year campuses to record enrollments this fall.

MSU Billings had a record total enrollment of 5,041, which included COT numbers. That’s 7 percent higher than last year.

The University of Montana reached 14,921 students this fall.

Montana State University in Bozeman, which doesn’t have a college of technology in town, also set a record enrollment with 12,764 students this fall.

The Independent Record’s City Editor Rich Myers contributed to this report.