Arkansas State University fall 2010 enrollment at all-time record

September 8, 2010 -- Arkansas State University today announced an all-time record enrollment of 13,438 students for the Jonesboro campus, the highest recorded enrollment in the school’s history. It represents an increase of 1,282 students (10.5%) compared to fall 2009 enrollment numbers. The new fall semester record enrollment represents significant increases in the university’s enrollment in graduate programs and both undergraduate and graduate international students.

Interim chancellor Dr. G. Daniel Howard stated, “The significant increase in student enrollment reflects positively upon the quality and value of the education provided by ASU.”  According to Howard, “This increase occurred simultaneously with increased undergraduate admissions standards and selective increases in graduate admissions standards.” Howard complimented the faculty, staff, and administrators who contributed, individually and collectively, to this success. Dr. Howard also said, “ASU’s recent ranking by the editors of U.S. News and World Report as a tier 1 southern regional college in the America’s Best Colleges edition should help ASU attract an increasing number of well-qualified students in the future.”

The final enrollment for the fall semester will be reported to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education in mid-October. The most recent enrollment record was the spring 2010 enrollment of 12,396. The fall 2010 headcount is an increase of 1,042 students (8.4%) over the spring 2010 headcount.

Graduate level enrollment stands at 3,371, up 1,239 students, for an increase of 58.1% when compared to fall 2009. Graduate student enrollment includes 2,901 students enrolled in master’s degree programs, 122 enrolled in specialist degree programs, and 206 enrolled in doctoral degree programs.

Total current international undergraduate and graduate headcount stands at 574, up 155 students, for a 37% increase. ASU serves an additional 395 students enrolled in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, thus bringing the total of international students currently registered for fall to 969, an increase of 327 students (or 50.9%) from fall 2009.

The total undergraduate headcount was 10,067, compared to 10,024 for fall 2009. Undergraduate student enrollment includes 544 students enrolled in associate degree programs and 7,993 enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs.

Dr. Rick Stripling, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, notes the number of lottery scholarships and Arkansas Challenge scholarships awarded through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. He cites 1,025 scholarships for incoming freshmen, 1,081 scholarships for current students, and 245 nontraditional student scholarships, for a total of 2,351 scholarships of $5,000 awarded annually to students at ASU. Dr. Stripling also says, “We spent $2.3 million on scholarships for the class of 2010-11. This was the same amount that we spent on the class of 2009-10. In addition, we reallocated funds for students in three key areas: students in financial need; current students who were academic high achievers but who did not have scholarships; and transfer students.”
 
The total headcount for master’s degree students for fall 2010 is 2901, up 1,159 since fall 2009, for a 66.6% increase. Doctoral degree student enrollment for fall 2010 is at 206 students, up 30 students since fall 2009, for an increase of 17%.

ASU’s highest enrollment by college is the College of Education, with 3,811 students enrolled. This college saw an increase of 1,147 students (43.1%) since fall 2009, and virtually all of this growth is attributable to distance learning. It is followed by the College of Nursing and Health Professions, with 2,352 students enrolled, up 157 students (7.2%) from fall 2009. ASU’s third-highest college by enrollment is University College, with 1,883 enrolled. The College of Sciences and Mathematics has an enrollment of 1,120, up 75 students (or 7.2%) compared to fall 2009, while the College of Humanities and Social Sciences follows with an enrollment of 1,094 students, up 73 students (or 7.1%), from fall 2009.

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