Preliminary enrollment numbers are up at Copiah-Lincoln Community College with more than 3,000 students enrolled on its three campuses.

At Thursday night’s Board of Trustees meeting, Jane Hulon, vice president of instructional services, said the three-campus system had a head count of 3,150 students as of Aug. 28. That is 110 more students from last year — a 3.62 percent increase.

Hulon said getting students to campus is only half their goal.

“We want them to stay with us and complete,” she said.

Hulon also said these numbers could fluctuate as students drop courses.

The Natchez campus recently received a grant in the amount of $284,753. The grant, provided by the U.S. Department of Education, is given in five-year cycles. The campus will receive that same amount each year for five years.

The money is used to fund five employees in the Student Support Services department. The program assists students who could be at risk for dropout, whether it’s because they have a low-income background or are a first-generation college student.

Co-Lin President Ronnie Nettles said they have received this award for about 30 years, but many other schools have not been so fortunate. He said they are renewed each year because of the success the department has had.

Construction is in many different stages across the Wesson campus. The Early Childhood Education Building is on schedule to be completed by Oct. 1.

“It’s a fascinating building,” Nettles said.

The pedestrian corridor project is underway, and they hope that project will improve campus. The board on Thursday approved to apply for a Community Heritage Preservation Grant through the Mississippi  Department of Archives and History for a roof replacement project for the J. M. Ewing Administration Building.  Nettles said it is only one of a few buildings in Copiah County that qualify. The project is expected to cost around $300,000, and the grant would call for a 20 percent match by the school.

This would be the first time Co-Lin turned to MDAH for funding, but Nettles said it could be a good alternate for the school.

The board also approved a memorandum of understanding between King’s Daughters Medical Center and Co-Lin for sports medicine services. KDMC will provide two athletic trainers to work in the athletic department, an orthopedic surgeon or mid-level provider at home football games and physical screenings, along with other similar services.

Co-Lin will reimburse KDMC for one trainer at the annual rate of $54,000 for salary and benefits. Nettles said previously the school hired its own trainer, and they spent slightly more employing the trainer themselves.

In other board business:

• Nettles said they have been busy with anniversaries this week as the Simpson County Center celebrated 10 years Wednesday. They also celebrated 100 years at the Wesson campus.

• The board approved to employee George Keyes as a part-time police officer at the Simpson County Center and Zach Moulds as coordinator of outreach and student success at the Natchez campus.

• The board approved for Co-Lin to retain the services of Randall B. Wall and Jones Walker LLP and John H. Henley and Henley, Lotterhos & Henley, PLLC to investigate whether or not the school should do an early purchase of a piece of equipment that is currently under a lease-purchase agreement. The equipment currently has about $1.8 million left on the agreement, and they would buy it with bonds. The idea is that bonds could have a lower interest rate than what the current agreement offers.

• Co-Lin also collected $54,655.75 from bad debt collection for fiscal year 2015.