Even in the state’s largest university town, there are plenty of students not interested in attending college, and that has produced an enrollment boom for Pinnacle Career Institute.

The vocational school, which offers five degree programs in health and technology fields, recently doubled its space by moving into an 18,000-square-foot building at 1601 W. 23rd St. The new location was unveiled to the public Thursday. The school previously was at 4824 Quail Crest Place.

Executive director Becky Clothier said an increase in enrollment — from about 35 students in 2001 to about 180 students today — led to the need for the new facility. And more educational programs may soon be on the way.

“What we find is that there are a lot of people who get out of high school and they don’t know what they want to do, but they know they don’t want to go to college,” she said.

Clothier said Pinnacle, which also has a school in Kansas City, Mo., appealed to those people because the school’s degree programs could be completed in nine to 12 months. The school’s tuition is about $10,000.

“We have a lot of nontraditional students out here who maybe have children or families, and it just isn’t practical to go to a four-year college,” said Chante Judy, a Topeka resident studying to be a medical assistant at the school. “I’m glad it’s here. There needs to be something that is in between high school and college.”

Several community leaders at the company’s open house Thursday said Pinnacle was an important part of the community’s efforts to better train area workers.

“Our business retention survey showed us that there was a real need to provide more vocational training,” City Commissioner Boog Highberger said. “Pinnacle is the type of business that can help us do that.”

Before it changed its name last year, the school had operated for four years as Lawrence Career College. The career college in 2002 was the subject of several complaints by students who said their financial aid was being mishandled by the business.

An open house at the new Pinnacle Career Institute in Lawrence gave prospective students a look at the 18,000-square-foot facility. Becky Clothier, left, executive director of the center, and Nancy Carter, director of allied health at the center, visited Wednesday in one of the school's massage areas. Massage therapy is one of the programs offered at the school.

In 2001, 18 students publicly complained courses were poorly organized and instructors sometimes didn’t show up to teach classes.

Clothier, who became the school’s director in February 2002, after the complaints, said those problems were behind the school. And she said that while the school “wasn’t perfect,” it never had widespread problems.

Now, the school is looking at expanding its course offerings. Pinnacle is only using 11,000 square feet of its new 18,000-square-foot building. Clothier said school officials were exploring the possibility of adding degrees for industrial technology positions.

Currently, Pinnacle offers programs in business/office administration, computer programming, medical assisting, medical office assisting and massage therapy.