latest on enrollment? - USM Forum -- Message Board

Cat In the Hat · Status: Offline

latest on enrollment?

stephen judd · Status: Offline

Cat In the Hat wrote:

Enrollment in my classes seems to be down. Anybody else? Any "official" numbers being shared with faculty leadership?

Senate has not heard any specifics yet -- The President has made some optimistic statements in sm eof her public meetings. I think we just wo'nt know until school starts. I'd encourage folks to be patient. We can't affect enrollment as it happens. Once we know what happened, we can talk a bout what it means and make plans.

In the meanwhile, I hope people will make plans to come to the Fall convocation on September 24 where the President will deliver her first "State of the University" address.

Cat In the Hat · Status: Offline

Will it be televised on the web?

stephen judd · Status: Offline

don't know -- ask:

jana.bryant@usm.edu

COST faculty · Status: Offline

Enrollment in CoST seems to be up. Many classes are closed. This last call preview saw closed classes across campus.

stephen judd · Status: Offline

CoST faculty:

Kind of my impression too. The President has talked about 10% increase at Rotary but I think that's probably really early and maybe we should take this as indicative of a good trend more than a literal number. I'm not seeing anyone in the upper administration seeming worried so I have the feeling that we are at least holding our own if not better.

There are good reasons for optimism -- we just went through a tough administration that really did not have a coherant plan for growth; we survived a hurricane -- we came to the brink but we did not fall apart. It is true that we lost a large number of faculty -- and some very capable and good people. Our enrollment declined somewhat -- but not as drastically as might have been the case.

So . . . we now have a lot of new faculty with lots of energy and ambition (one hopes) and perhaps some idealism to provide some energy to our efforts to move forward; we have a new administration that is growth oriented in the best sense (i.e. trying to plan for growth and talking about "excellence" as something we need to strive for rather than something we have already achieved). We have a President who seems to be gnashing at the bit to bring attention all of the university and not just a selected part of it and who actually enjoys the challenge of fundraising. She met with congressional people on Thursday and when we saw her in the Senate she seemed positively energized by that experience.

Incredulous · Status: Offline

Figures released by the PR department indicate that enrollment is down about 1% from last year. One can hope that is one of the last effects of the Thames regime.

info · Status: Offline

http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/newsstory.asp?ID=514

IHL PRESS RELEASE
PRELIMINARY FALL 2007 ENROLLMENT FIGURES SHOW INCREASE

Media Contact: Annie Mitchell
Phone Number: (601) 432-6493
9/12/2007

For the first time in the state's history, enrollment at Mississippi's eight public universities has surpassed 70,000 students. Preliminary Fall 2007 enrollment figures show an increase of 1.2 percent in the student population, up from 69,941 students in Fall 2006 to 70,800 students in Fall 2007.

"For thirteen consecutive years, enrollment at Mississippi's public universities has increased," said Commissioner of Higher Education Dr. Thomas C. Meredith. "This continued growth in the number of individuals seeking a university education is a very positive sign for our state and absolutely necessary if Mississippi is going to compete in the global marketplace."

Preliminary enrollment figures are unduplicated and count students one time regardless of their campus enrollment.

UNDUPLICATED Headcount Per Institution
Fall 2006
Fall 2007*
Percent Change

Alcorn State University
3,583
3,668
2.4%
Delta State University
4,217
4,091
-3.0%
Jackson State University
8,256
8,699
5.4%
Mississippi State University
16,206
17,039
5.1%
Mississippi University for Women
2,428
2,379
-2.0%
Mississippi Valley State University
3,162
3,009
-4.8%
University of Mississippi
17,312
17,323
0.1%
(University of Mississippi)
15,220
15,129
-0.6%
(University of Mississippi Medical Center)
2,092
2,194
4.9%
University of Southern Mississippi
14,777
14,592
-1.3%

SYSTEM TOTAL
69,941
70,800
1.2%

*Preliminary Figures

Reporter · Status: Offline

H.A.--USM sees enrollment decrease

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/NEWS01/709130316

"Southern Miss, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, posted the biggest loss, 185 students. The tally includes a dip of 153 students on its main campus in Hattiesburg and 46 fewer students on it's Jackson County campus. Collectively, the school's four Gulf Coast campuses picked up 35 students, putting them closer to the 2,583 enrolled before Katrina shut down the state's Gulf Coast.Pat Joachim, USM associate provost for Gulf Coast operations, attributed the increase to new programs such as marine science and applied technology."

LVN · Status: Offline

Any way to tell if the loss is in undergraduate vs. graduate students?

stinky cheese man · Status: Offline

according to a usm press release yesterday, graduate enrollment on the hattiesburg campus is up 48 students, or about 2%.

Reporter · Status: Offline

Southern Miss Enrollment: Gulf Coast Rebounding, Academic Quality Rises

Hattiesburg Total enrollment for The University of Southern Mississippi from all campuses and teaching sites as released by the Institutions of Higher Learning is 14,592 students, including 11,926 undergraduates and 2,666 graduates.

Enrollment numbers across the Gulf Coast sites, which are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, increased modestly to 2,473 in 2007, compared to 2,438 in 2006. The Hattiesburg campus also experienced an increase in graduate enrollment for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, with 2,249 graduate students in 2007 compared to 2,201 in 2006.

This fall, a record number of Presidential Scholars with an average ACT score of 29 make up the Honors College freshman class. This represents a one-point jump from the 2006 class. The average ACT score for all freshmen is up as well, by a quarter of a point. That statistic has continued to trend upward in recent years, said Paul.

Southern Miss Honors College Dean Dr. David R. Davies said he and faculty across the university are looking forward to the opportunity to work with the bright minds that make up the freshman class.

Our newest students show much promise for success, and many of them have a laudable dedication to public service. Their enthusiasm is contagious and academic drive impressive, Davies said.

A lingering Katrina effect seems to be impacting the numbers according to Dr. Joe Paul, vice president for Student Affairs. Enrollments in area feeder community college and some high schools are still down as a result of the hurricane, and that in turn affects us. As those numbers come back, ours should follow.

More than 45 percent of students at Southern Miss are transfer students.

In 2006 hurricane-affected students were able to take advantage of $27.5 million from the Katrina/Rita Relief Act in federal assistance for the 2006-07 year that is no longer available.

Location

2007 Enrollment

2006 Enrollment

Total Headcount
15,538

15,676

Hattiesburg
12,940

13,093

Gulf Park
1,897

1,842

Stennis
83

77

Jackson County
419

465

GCRL
74

54

Meridian
28

62

Other (Study Abroad, Tupelo)
97

83

These figures represent duplicated headcount, a number that reflects students by location, so some individual students may be counted twice if they are enrolled in two or more places. Figures released by the IHL are unduplicated figures.