Gateway Community College will more than double the number of its successful new 6:30 a.m. “Early Bird Classes” for its spring semester, which begins Jan. 21.

The pilot program, which is designed for students who work full time, was launched this fall with four classes. All of them were either full or almost full, said Mark Kosinski, GCC’s dean of academic affairs.

In January, GCC will offer nine Early Bird Classes and all of them will be high-demand general education classes. They will be: Fundamentals of Human Communication, Introduction to Software Applications, Earth Science, English Composition, English Literature & Composition, Western Civilization I, Intermediate Algebra, Introduction to Philosophy and General Psychology.

“We are obviously filling a need by serving working students who would like to come to a campus that is conveniently located, take a class and be back on the road to work before 8 o’clock,” Kosinski said. “I’ve met with students in the classes and they are eager and excited about what they are doing.”

In addition to giving working students the option of not having to come to campus during the college’s busiest time, which begins at 5:20 p.m. Monday through Thursday, the program also helps the college manage its record enrollments while it awaits the completion of its new downtown campus in the fall of 2012. “It’s a win-win situation,” Kosinski said.

GCC is one of the fastest growing community colleges in the state with enrollment currently up at least 8 percent over this time last year. Last year, GCC was named one of the 50 fastest-growing two-year colleges of its size in the nation by Community College Week magazine.