Enrollment may only be up slightly this year, but some students still think campus seems more congested than past years.
“It has seemed a little more crowded during peak hours - when big classes let out it’s more crowded on the sidewalk,” Lyman Briggs sophomore Jennifer Eschbaugh said. “Compared to last year, there’s definitely a lot more students.”
Preliminary reports released Friday show MSU enrollment at about 43,340 students this year, an increase of 302 students from last year.
The figures stay within the university’s plan to stabilize the student population between 43,000 and 44,000 throughout the next several years, which would optimize use of the university’s physical plant, faculty and classroom space, officials said.
“The range is in the realm of where we want to be,” said Gordon Stanley, the university’s director of admissions, on Sunday.
MSU enrollment first surpassed 40,000 in 1966, when enrollment hit 41,474. It has dropped below 40,000 only once since then, at 39,743 in 1993.
Stanley attributed the range of student enrollment to the university’s plan to balance new students with those its retained.
MSU received more than 22,700 enrollment applications this year - more than ever. Stanley attributes the increase to a surge in popularity as the men’s basketball team captured the NCAA Championship earlier this year.
“In general, the championship gave more visibility to MSU,” he said. “Athletics opened a window to a more positive view, casting a positive light on the university.”
That positive light can be seen in this year’s freshman class too, preliminary reports show.
The freshman class, estimated at 6,870, is one reason for the increase in enrollment. The class is nearly 300 students higher than a year ago and more than the 6,500 target range.
“The quality of the class has gone up,” said Assistant Provost Robert Banks, referring to how selective MSU has been with freshman applicants.
The average grade-point average for freshman is 3.47, higher than last year’s 3.44. And the average ACT score of 23.9 is up from last year’s 23.7.
“The large application pool helps the university maintain a class that is highly qualified academically and diverse,” Banks said. “It gives the university flexibility to achieve its goals.”
University Housing had been tracking numbers since last May, said Chuck Gagliano, assistant vice president of housing and food services.
Gagliano said the number of single rooms was reduced in anticipation of the increased enrollment. The number of allotted rooms for the several hundred students returning to live on campus was also reduced.
“We manage different circumstances from year to year,” he said, “and the university has had a pretty steady enrollment for the last four years.”
Vincent Estes can be reached at estesvin@msu.edu.
