Enrolment at Bermuda College has risen dramatically this semester — and education chiefs said yesterday it was largely thanks to the free tuition now on offer.

The publicly funded community college has seen a 25 per cent increase in overall enrolment this month compared to the same time last year.

There are now 1,366 students, compared with 1,092 last year; 1,006 are part-time and 360 are full-time. The college calculates enrolment on its census date each year on September 15.

About 66 per cent of students — or slightly more than 900 — are taking advantage of the free tuition provided for the first time this year for Bermudians by Government at a cost to it of almost $730,000.

College president Duranda Greene told a press conference yesterday that the college was deluged by people wanting free tuition and extra placement test papers had to be ordered to accommodate the numbers.

"This initiative was something that was obviously a drawing card for many and the increases we have seen are largely due to the huge public relations effort that we mounted," she said.

"For us, it was imperative that there was a distinction drawn between free tuition and quality education. Implicit in our message, both internally and externally, was that the free tuition initiative did not mean a dilution or 'dumbing down' of the product.

"It was the new affordability of a quality education that needed to be underscored by the college and understood by all stakeholders."

Education Minister Randy Horton said: "Free tuition provides an opportunity for all Bermudians to have access to higher education and, as Bermuda's only institution of higher learning, Bermuda College welcomed this initiative and now basks in the success of that challenge."

A third of the college's students are directly out of high school or under the age of 21. The remainder are non-traditional students over the age of 21 who, Dr. Greene said, are probably balancing jobs and schoolwork.

"The benefits of the free tuition in providing some relief to these students cannot be overstated," she added.

This year's intake still sees female students outnumber men by almost three to one — a gender imbalance which Dr. Greene said the college was committed to tackling.

A workshop on the issue will be held when the college hosts the Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education conference in Bermuda for the first time in November.

Free tuition was first pledged by Government in the 2007 Throne Speech and applies to Bermudians taking credit courses who do not already hold a bachelor's degree and are not in financial arrears with the college.

Returning students are eligible for the financial help but they must have a grade-point average of at least 2.0. All students benefiting from the scheme must achieve a 2.0 GPA or they will not receive further help.

Mr. Horton said yesterday that, as well as students studying for their first bachelor's degree, the scheme currently included those enrolled on developmental or college preparatory courses. That policy will be reviewed in 2010 with an aim to phasing it out.

He said it was hoped that by then the public education system would have improved to the point where fewer students needed to enrol on such courses.