PRESQUE ISLE – Classes at Northern Maine Technical College began Monday, and officials report that the college’s enrollment is up about 8 percent over the same time last year.

Patricia Sutherland, director of college relations, said Tuesday that enrollment was at 850 this year, compared with about 780 last year.

Those numbers are preliminary, she said, and could change as students add or drop classes this week. The enrollment figure also doesn’t include part-time students who have until the end of the week to sign up for classes at the campus or off-campus centers in Caribou, Fort Kent, Houlton and Van Buren.

Among the areas showing the greatest growth at the technical colleges across Maine, Sutherland said, is the associate in arts in general studies program.

At NMTC, enrollment in that program is up about 59 percent over last year, according to William Egeler, dean of students at NMTC.

The number of students in the program grew from 79 last year, the first year the program was offered, to 121 this year.

“It’s been relatively heavily publicized statewide as an avenue for people to get started in higher education,” Egeler said Tuesday.

He said the program is particularly popular with people who are working, are unsure of what program of study they want to pursue or are looking to get back into a degree program and don’t have the necessary background classes they need.

With the associate in arts in general studies, “they have a home in a degree program,” he said.

Another program that has shown very strong growth, Egeler said, is early childhood education, where enrollment increased from 20 last year to 46 this year.

Egeler said the program is at capacity and there is a standby list of students who want to get in.

The big reason for the demand in early childhood education, Egeler said, is that there is a shortage of care providers in the state. Coupled with that is the fact that childcare providers must be licensed by the state.

The early childhood education program helps meet both those conditions.

Because of that demand, the program has grown from certificate status to a full associate degree program.

“There’s a demand there for both full and part-time,” Egeler said. “It’s a need and we’re trying to match programs in the area.”

Like the early childhood program, NMTC’s nursing programs also have reached their enrollment capacity for clinical experience this year.

“Students are recognizing the shortage in these professions, both in the community and across the country,” Egeler said, explaining the increased demand.