Enrollment expected to rebound
By Rita Wisen
Enrollment this semester is down 1.4 percent from last spring and down slightly more from the fall. However, admissions officials expect enrollment to rise in the next few days and even surpass the numbers from spring and fall 1999.
At press time, 3,318 students were enrolled, compared to last spring’s 3,366. In the fall, at midterm, the total reached 4,582.
The same trend is true of the number of credit hours students are taking. Students are currently enrolled in 28,817 credit hours. This number is down 1.5 percent from the 29,270 hours last spring, and down even more from the fall total of 36,193.
Credit hours are also expected to at least even out by the tenth day of classes, according to Kelly Conrad, director of admissions. The tenth day is the official count day, or "census day" for those who work in admissions, Conrad said.
Predicting even more students than the past few semesters, Conrad said, "People are needing more and more training."
Enrollments in two new career programs, computer networking and massage therapy, have gone up, Conrad said, and their numbers are still growing.