[293] MTSU Spring Enrollment Leaps 4.26% to 24,660

Release date: Feb. 3, 2011

News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Enrollment contact: Dr. Deb Sells, 615-898-2440 or dsells@mtsu.edu

MTSU Spring Enrollment Leaps 4.26% to 24,660

(MURFREESBORO) — In terms of enrollment, it is another record-setting spring semester at MTSU.
MTSU has a record spring enrollment of 24,660 students registered for classes, university officials said Feb. 2. This is 1,007 more students and a 4.26 percent increase from spring 2010 when 23,653 students were registered.
“We are very pleased to see both our numbers of new students and our numbers of returning students increasing,” said Dr. Deb Sells, vice president for Student Affairs and vice provost for Enrollment and Academic Services. “We believe new students continue to be attracted to MTSU because of the high quality of the academic programs offered, coupled with the individual attention and support our students receive.”
Included in the final totals, which were frozen on Jan. 28 and submitted Feb. 1 to the Tennessee Board of Regents, are an 8.16 percent increase in the number of returning seniors, a 4.28 percent increase in the total returning undergraduate population, a 3.26 percent increase in total new undergraduates and a 56.14 percent increase in returning undergraduate special (high-school students taking college courses).
Enrollment Services’ totals reveal 1,236 new undergraduates this spring compared to 1,197 in 2010. New transfer students rose from 926 in 2010 to 954 this year.
“We are particularly pleased with our increase in the number of returning students,” Sells said. “Our ultimate goals for our students are that they are engaged in learning, making progress toward their degrees and that they reach graduation in a timely manner.
“As an institution, we will be judged by our ability to help students learn and successfully complete the requirements of their degree. Keeping students enrolled, engaged and involved with the campus are key to meeting those goals.”
MTSU’s 6,838 returning seniors are 516 more than in 2010 when there were 6,322 returning seniors. The university also has 800 more returning total undergraduates (19,496) than a year ago (18,696).
MTSU’s data includes 178 returning high-school students registered for courses, compared to 114 last spring, an increase of 64 students.
Also in the summary of returnees, MTSU is experiencing a 38.17 percent increase in graduate special (nondegree-seeking students), 181 this semester compared to 131 in 2010; a 57 percent increase in doctoral students (190 compared to 121 last spring); a 10.31 percent increase in total graduate students (2,386 now vs. 2,163 in ’10); and a 4.9 percent increase in total returnees (21,882 vs. 20,859 in ’10, an increase of 1,023).
In a 10-year span, MTSU’s spring enrollment has increased from 18,771 in 2002 to the 24,660 this semester
MTSU experienced a record number of students registered, 26,430, in fall 2010. Traditionally, fall enrollments are MTSU’s largest of the year.

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Note: For a high-resolution jpeg photo of Dr. Deb Sells, vice president for Student Affairs and vice provost for Enrollment and Academic Services, or a copy of the enrollment comparisons information for spring 2011, contact Randy Weiler in the MTSU Office of News and Media Relations by calling 615-898-5616 or 898-2919.

In Brief

MTSU has a record spring enrollment of 24,660 students registered for classes, university officials said Feb. 2. This is 1,007 more students and a 4.26 percent increase from spring 2010 when 23,653 students were registered. MTSU’s all-time record enrollment is 26,430 students registered in fall 2010.



Founded in 1911, Middle Tennessee State University is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution located in Murfreesboro and is the state’s largest public undergraduate institution. MTSU now boasts one of the nation’s first master’s degree programs in horse science, and the Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., acclaims MTSU’s Master of Science in Professional Science degree — the only one in Tennessee — as a model program. MTSU recently unveiled three new doctoral degrees in the sciences.

For MTSU news and information, go online to mtsunews.com.