Enrollment up at Big Country colleges
Johnisha Rogers, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., unloads and organizes her school supplies after moving into her dorm room in Behrens Hall on Tuesday at Hardin-Simmons University.
Joy Lewis/Reporter-News Caiden Carroll, 4, waits as his aunt, Jordan Carroll, checks into Hardin-Simmons University Tuesday. Caiden leans against his great-grandmother, Peggy Robinson, after helping move Jordan Carrolls belongings into Behrens Hall.
photos by Joy Lewis/Reporter-News Hardin-Simmons University senior Sam Walker carries a small refrigerator into Behrens Hall. Walker volunteered to help other students move their furniture into the dormitory. Its a good way to welcome new students and meet people, Walker said. Hardin-Simmons declined to share its preliminary enrollment numbers. Many other area campuses report more students this year.
Although official enrollment numbers are not due for several weeks, one area college reported breaking the 10,000-student mark for the first time, and one said its enrollment had increased so much that some students were moving into hotel rooms, not dorms.
Denise Groves, dean of enrollment management at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, said its projected enrollment is 10,144, an increase of 8.6 percent over last year. That number includes 1,577 new students — freshmen and transfers — a 7.5 percent bump.
“It is unprecedented for us to see two years of significant growth. We’re up 7.5 percent this year, on top of a 19 percent increase last year. I think our investments in strategic communication have really paid off,” Groves said.
Colleges are required to submit official enrollment numbers by the 20th day after classes start, Groves said, which leaves some room for those numbers to go down.
“With the loss of the Texas Grant, which typically provided $5,500 per semester to high-achieving, but lower income students, I think there may be some sticker shock when the bills do go out,” she said.
Bill Campion, president of Ranger College, said enrollment at all three of the school’s campuses — Brownwood, Ranger and Stephenville — is “soaring.”
“I suspect, when it’s all said and done, we’ll have between 2,000 and 2,100 students. That’s up between 30 and 35 percent over last year. Our dorms are full, and we’ve had to put students in motels for the time being,” Campion said.
Mike Dreith, president of Western Texas College, said overall enrollment is up, although not as dramatically as some schools.
“Our preliminary numbers show we’re at about 2,226, compared to 2,180 last year. I don’t have the exact numbers on new students in front of me, but I can say that participation in our new student orientation program was way, way up over last year,” Dreith said.
Cisco College reported numbers on track with previous years, at both its Abilene and Cisco campuses.
Amy Evans, spokeswoman for the college, said officials were expecting between zero and 2 percent growth for this year. After experiencing a 27 percent increase in enrollment over the past three years, Evans said the economic situation led them to forecast only a slight increase in student enrollment.
“Right now, we’re a 3,560, compared with 3,536 from last year. But, this year’s numbers don’t yet reflect the dual-credit students and other students who will be added to the rolls,” Evans said.
Paul Fabrizio, vice president of academic affairs at McMurry University, said preliminary numbers show an increase of about 40 students, pushing McMurry’s incoming freshman class above 300. More than 100 transfer students were also enrolled, which is down slightly compared with last year.
“Overall, the numbers look positive, and we’re cautiously optimistic we will have a strong enrollment,” Fabrizio said.
He added that he thought some of the increase in new students was because of a strong marketing campaign this summer, where the school offered half-price tuition and housing.
“We wanted to send a message to students that, despite the actions taken by the federal and state governments — cuts to the Pell and Texas Equalization Grant programs — we were serious about keeping education costs down. I think that’s paid off,” he said.
Representatives from Abilene Christian University, Hardin-Simmons University and Texas State Technical College-West Texas declined to share their preliminary enrollment numbers.
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