[061] MTSU Projects Fall Enrollment to Top 24K

Release date: Aug. 27, 2009


News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-2919 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Enrollment Services contact: Dr. Deb Sells, 615-898-2440 or dsells@mtsu.edu


MTSU Projects Fall Enrollment to Top 24K


(MURFREESBORO) — Enrollment Services officials anticipate MTSU’s combined fall enrollment to reach and surpass 24,000, which will be a record, by the time final totals are submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents in mid-September.
“Most definitely,” Dr. Deb Sells, vice president for student affairs and vice provost for enrollment and academic services, said Aug. 26, responding to an inquiry about the chances of MTSU reaching and passing this 24K milestone.
“Enrollment continues to look strong,” Sells said in mid-August. “We are hoping to manage an increase in enrollment of somewhere between 2 and 3 percent for this fall.
“Much of that growth is likely to come from new transfer students and from new graduate students. Much across the U.S., numbers of high-school graduates are beginning to level off after a slight ‘boom’ in that group during the past several years, and we therefore expect a leveling off in the growth rate of our new freshman class.”
MTSU’s fall 2008 headcount was 23,872 – or 128 shy of 24,000 combined undergraduate and graduate students. This total was an increase of 626 students from fall 2007.
At one juncture during fall ’08’s registration process, the university did pass 24,000, said Sherian Huddleston, associate vice provost for enrollment services. However, because of students withdrawing and nonpayment of fees, the headcount dropped under 24K.
Sells said MTSU continues “to see an increase in the successful retention of our current students, so we also expect part of our enrollment increase to reflect greater numbers of our already enrolled students continuing their programs without interruption.”
She added that university officials “have significantly increased the amount of financial aid awarded for this year.”
“MTSU added approximately $1 million to our pool of university-funded
scholarships this year,” she said, “and we also have made significant new awards for
students from the federal stimulus money the university received.”
Sells added that this year MTSU has begun participation in the Direct Lending Program, which means the loan proceeds for the students are derived directly from the
federal government.
Previously, loan funds were disbursed to MTSU via one of several banking institutions from which the student selected, she said.
“This will avoid the situation experienced last fall when loans for some students were delayed due to late arrival of funds from the banks,” Sells said.

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Briefly

MTSU Enrollment Services official Dr. Deb Sells projects fall 2009 enrollment will pass the 24,000 milestone, which will be a record. Final headcount totals will be submitted to the Tennessee Board of Regents in mid-September or shortly thereafter. Sells attributes the growth from transfer and graduate students. Nationally, the boom in high-school graduates enrolling as first-time freshmen is leveling off, Sells said.

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Note: For a high-resolution jpeg photo of Dr. Deb Sells, please contact Randy Weiler in MTSU News and Public Affairs by calling 615-898-2919 or 615-898-5616, or e-mail jweiler@mtsu.edu.