Vigorous recruiting tactics have caused enrollment in the Honors College to reach a record of 2,390 students this year, surpassing the 1971 mark of 2,374, officials say.
“Competition for high achieving students is just as intense as recruiting athletes,” said Ron Fisher, director of the Honors College.
He said this year’s freshman class held a high school grade-point average of 4.01 and average ACT score of 31.
The college has also become stronger by offering programs in various majors, giving students the freedom to design schedules they choose, he said.
“Having more students, it allows us to have students in all colleges across MSU,” he said.
Provost Lou Anna Simon said rejuvenating the Honors College was one of the goals under the guiding principles of MSU.
The Honors College program began in 1956, grew steadily and reached its highest enrollment in 1971. In the 80s, the university cut back on funding and the college fell to 938 students in 1994 - prompting MSU President M. Peter McPherson and Simon to put more effort into rejuvenating the program as a larger force at MSU.
“In our view it had been one of the jewels of the early 60s and 70s,” she said.
Bess German, assistant director of external relations for the Honors College, said intense recruiting methods have been derived from the athletic departments tactics of attracting students to the university.
“We try to pull out all the stops to personalize attention to students,” she said.
Melissa Mattingly was heavily recruited out of high schools by many colleges across the country, and now she is helping MSU’s Honor College reach record enrollment this year.
The Illinois resident is one more than 200 students in Honors STudents Actively Recruiting, known as H-STAR.
Through the program, Mattingly has spoken to hundreds of prospective students from all over the country and lets students stay with her on weekends in an attempt to attract high achieving students to MSU.
“The Honors College is the best thing about MSU to me,” the international relations and political theory and constitutional democracy junior said. “It has opened doors. I have met a lot of people. Its definitely an unique experience,” she said.
Fisher also said because not all students meet recruiting standards in high school, everyone at MSU has a chance to join the program after their first semester if they earn a 3.5 grade-point average.
“In theory, taking a more advanced program, students learn more, leaving them in a strong position to get into graduate school or a career field,” Fisher said.
