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Loan Change Sends Thousands of Students Home

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by Reginald Stuart

Thousands of students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country had their fall enrollment plans derailed this year by significant changes in a key federal loan program, according to officials at a number of institutions and a report last month by the Chairman of the President's Board of Advisors on HBCUs.

Hampton University reported a loss of some $6 million in anticipated revenue traceable to the revision of PPL criteria

Institutions large and small, public and private, cited a tightening of "criteria" for receiving Parent PLUS loans (PPL) as the culprit, with the advisory board chairman's report estimating some 14,000 students learned in August and September that the U.S. Department of Education, which administers the PPL program, had rejected applications from the students' parents or guardians for loans to help pay college expenses.

Under the new loan criteria, parents seeking loans to assist their children with college costs were required to disclose debt "charge offs" and items in collection as part of their financial, including medical bills. Those items, not

required in the past were considered by loan processors when determining whether a parent qualified PPL.

PLUS loans have no cap in the amount that can be borrowed. Generally, they carry an interest rate of 8-9 percent.

The impact of the tighter loan rules was widespread, said admissions and financial aid officials at a number of schools sampled, particularly among the historically poor and the 'new poor.' those families that lost high paying jobs, their homes and much of their savings during the Great Recession that started in 2008.

Hampton University, the prestigious private college in Virginia, reported a loss of $6 million in anticipated revenue, traceable to parents of students enrolled at all levels being denied PPLs.

Officials at Florida A&M University, Morehouse College, Bowie State University, Benedict College, Howard University and Delaware State University, said they also notice a significant increase in loan denials.

"Take your pick of HBCUs," said one financial aid officer not authorized to speak officially for her institution. "It affects our demographic."

An official at another HBCU said there was a growing consensus among financial aid officials based on anecdotal information that indicated the loan rejection rate ranged from 20-60 percent, depending on the institution. The rate was lower for loan applications tied to graduate school programs.

"While this matter is creating a crisis in the Black college community, it is a matter that is impacting all low- and moderate-income families and putting a college education out of reach for many," said Dr. William Harvey president of Hampton and chairman of the president's advisory board.

Harvey, citing anecdotal evidence gathered from his discussions with fellow presidents and leaders of the three principal advocacy organizations that represent HBCUs in Washington, estimated that HBCUs as a group stood to lose more than $160 million in revenue, if the 14,000 number holds. "Indeed, it is crippling for many of our institutions," he wrote in his report circulated late last month during the White House Conference on HBCUs.

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As the loan rejection trend began to take shape, Harvey and his colleagues brought the PPL issue to the attention of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan "to let him know the gravity of the situation." Harvey said Duncan said he understood the issue and "was on it."

The Department of Education has since begun reviewing hundreds of applications and has already notified many schools of overides of initial decisions to deny loans.

The surge in denials "did register on our minds," said Lynn Icono, director of financial aid at Delaware State. "More families were seeing more declines," she said. In recent weeks, Icono said, the university is seeing "more credit overrides," meaning loan applications that were initially denied are being reconsidered and approved.

Department of Education Press Secretary Justin Hamilton said the agency did indeed "strengthen" the criteria for obtaining Parent PLUS loans in a move to be "in keeping with industry standards. The criteria are used to determine whether a borrower can repay a loan.

Hamilton said the agency would not have a full picture on all of its loan volume until sometime in November. Meanwhile, the agency was giving several options to those whose applications were denied, he said. Applicants can simply submit the same application again, reapply with co-signers or seek to increase their federal Stafford loan, if they have one.

Meanwhile, some of the institutions affected have taken some steps on their own to help impacted students.

Howard University "successfully aided scores of students with appeals" on their Parent PLUS loan application denials, said University Spokeswoman Kerry-Ann Hamilton. The university also kicked into gear a program it launched last spring called "Bridging the Gap Student Aid Campaign." Its goal is an initial $25 million in unrestricted and endowed need-based funds that can be used to help worthy students "regardless of their ability to pay," Hamilton said.

Benedict College tapped into its resources to give students impacted by the PPL denials small scholarships and grants to help close with their newfound financial need. Delaware State has taken similar action, said Ms locono, offering some affected students scholarship aid packages that are a combination of grants scholarships and loans.

Semantic Tags: Historically Black Colleges & Universities Scholarships

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One Response to Report: Black Colleges Continue to Reduce Student Loan Default Rates

Obama does it again! When are Black people going to understand and appreciate the damage this “Black” President is doing to our communities? It's bad enough that many of us Black folks don't have a job, but now sending our kids home and denying them an 8-9% interest rate loan for their education? Shame on you Barack Obama and your Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan. I hope our people vote AGAINST you.

AngryBlackMan October 11, 2012 at 5:32 pm Reply

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Is PLUS Loan Reform Bad for HBCU Enrollment?

HBCUDigest.com — October 18, 2012 — Leave a comment

MOREHOUSE

COLLEGE

Laura Diamond of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today reports that Morehouse College will furlough faculty and staff in the face of enrollment decline at the school. Officials say that new qualifications for the Parent PLUS Loan are leaving students at a loss in securing funds for school.

Colleges across the country have reported an increase in loan denials after the U.S. Department of Education tightened standards for the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students. Prospective borrowers can't have any defaults, foreclosures, bankruptcies, tax liens or wage garnishments within the past five years.

The story cites similar enrollment drops at Clark Atlanta and Spelman, and it brings into question how the new rules for the PLUS loan can have adverse affects on the HBCU mission.

HBCUs provide academic access to a student population largely from lower-income households. Denials based on liens, defaulted loans or foreclosures would be common for any family in an economy that folded in on itself due to a broken housing market, but are a particular bugaboo for black families who, statistically, earn less and obtain loans that aren't favorable for comfortable repayment.

As if the economy wasn't already rough on students just trying to enroll in college, now a huge federal loan program has the makings of mass segregation against students most likely to enroll in HBCUs. For their part, it's a great call for the HBCUs to ask for and receive more private giving for scholarship support, but is there ever really enough for all of the students who need it?

/

Institutions Strive to Meet Enrollment Goals - Higher Education

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denials by federal student aid officials of Parent Plus Loans (PPL) — low cost college education loans whose repayment is guaranteed by parents.

"We did not anticipate this," Robinson said, referring to the number of students who would not be able to complete registration. "We thought we were pretty much on target. Late in the cycle, the anticipation [of an incremental enrollment increase] looked pretty promising."

While the inability of students to pull together sufficient funds stood out as the headline explaining the enrollment decline, Robinson said officials suspect the shopping list of other deterrents includes the changes in financial aid verification. The legendary FAFSA form, the voluminous document required of all students seeking financial aid, now requires an Internal Revenue transcript to verify certain family income data. Any "new wrinkle" in the registration process becomes another hurdle for some prospects in the path of going to college, Robinson said.

Florida A&M University, which saw enrollment fall by nearly 1,000 students from this time a year ago to 12,027 students, cites a combination of factors in its enrollment decline — increased admission standards, a 12 percent boost in tuition that made it even more financially challenging to attend the university, and the tarnished reputation it suffers in the aftermath of last fall's death-by-hazing of a university drum major.

On the upswing

In Houston, Texas Southern University (TSU) trumpeted how it has been able to increase freshman enrollment this fall to 1,364 students while honoring its goal to "optimize enrollment of college-ready students" by gradually raising admissions standards by half a point since 2009 to 2.5. The freshman class admitted this fall had a high school grade point average of 2.7.

TSU President John M. Rudley credits the university's newly-formed admissions committee with helping the university meet its recruitment and enrollment goals, including screening so-called "borderline" students with a GPA of 2.5 or below and deciding to admit 158 students with these lower grade point averages based on other showings of potential to succeed in college.

The strategy of aiming higher was much the same at the University of Texas San Antonio, a Hispanic-serving institution. Dr. George Norton, vice president for student affairs, said the overall slippage from the university's enrollment goal by nearly 500 students was "anticipated" once the university realized its freshman enrollment would be down. The silver lining in the enrollment decline is that the smaller student body signed up for more semester hours. That helps offset the loss of some revenue from overall head count, Norton said, suggesting that students who are attending the university are more focused on graduating on time, if not sooner than the standard four years.

Like tweaks to an automobile to prepare it for the rigors of winter driving, institutions are employing a variety of strategies as they try to lure prospects for Fall 2013.

Even with a steady overflow of applicants, Hampton plans to become even more selective as part of its plan to reduce enrollment while attracting top students.

"It's a competitive process for recruiting overall," said Boyd. "Everybody is recruiting almost the same students. To win, you offer a quality experience."

Bowie State's Robinson said the university is planning a "more robust" recruitment of honors students and prospects who want to focus on science, technology, engineering and math. The university is "beefing up" its recruitment of transfer students, especially those coming from community colleges. It has hired an additional person for its admissions and recruiting staff to focus on articulation agreements with other institutions of higher learning and "strengthening" the university's relationship with community colleges.

When reminded that enrolling more transfer students would not impact how federal and state agencies measure graduation rates (they are based on following freshmen cohorts through their scheduled four-year or six-year path), Robinson echoed officials at other institutions, saying, “We are focused on graduating all the students who come to us. What matters is not how many students you have, but how many you graduate.”

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Is PLUS Loan Reform Bad for HBCU Enrollment?

HBCUDigest.com — October 18, 2012 — Leave a comment

MOREHOUSE

COLLEGE

Laura Diamond of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

today reports that Morehouse College will furlough faculty and staff in the face of enrollment decline at the school. Officials say that new qualifications for the Parent PLUS Loan are leaving students at a loss in securing funds for school.

Colleges across the country have reported an increase in loan denials after the U.S. Department of Education tightened standards for the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students. Prospective borrowers can't have any defaults, foreclosures, bankruptcies, tax liens or wage garnishments within the past five years.

The story cites similar enrollment drops at Clark Atlanta and Spelman, and it brings into question how the new rules for the PLUS loan can have adverse affects on the HBCU mission.

HBCUs provide academic access to a student population largely from lower-income households. Denials based on liens, defaulted loans or foreclosures would be common for any family in an economy that folded in on itself due to a broken housing market, but are a particular bugaboo for black families who, statistically, earn less and obtain loans that aren't favorable for comfortable repayment.

As if the economy wasn't already rough on students just trying to enroll in college, now a huge federal loan program has the makings of mass segregation against students most likely to enroll in HBCUs. For their part, it's a great call for the HBCUs to ask for and receive more private giving for scholarship support, but is there ever really enough for all of the students who need it?

Institutions Strive to Meet Enrollment Goals - Higher Education

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Institutions Strive to Meet Enrollment Goals

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by Reginald Stuart

When college officials across the country talk about their final tally of Fall 2012 enrollment, the discussions produce assessments that are all over the map.

Some institutions, like Hampton University, are pleased to see their enrollment declining. Others, like Florida A&M University, are wondering how they are going to make up for revenue shortfalls stemming from final numbers that came in much lower than expected. Many institutions, Bowie State University among them, are relieved that lingering economic effects of the Great Recession were no more damaging this fall than a fender bender. A few, like Fisk University, have much to cheer, as this fall saw a reversal in the downward spiral of their enrollment numbers.

Hampton University is undergoing what it's officials characterize as a "purposeful decline" in enrollment.

With recruiters already hard at work seeking prospects for the Fall 2013 school year, the ink is still drying on the final 2012 numbers at many schools. Yet enough feel confident about the results to date for Fall 2012 to explain

how their real-time experience compares to their goal for the season and what ideas and strategies figure into the upcoming recruitment campaigns.

“We're moving toward a purposeful decline” in enrollment, said Angela Boyd, director of admissions at Hampton University. With a long-term strategy of reducing enrollment by nearly 1,000 students from a high of 6,300, Boyd said the tough job this year was sifting through the more than 16,000 applications the university received in search of the target of 900 students. Holding new admissions to that number would help bring overall enrollment down by 500 students to 5,500 for the 2012-2013 school year.

Boyd said the “purposeful decline” strategy reflects Hampton’s decision that it was getting too big to maintain its ideal average class size of 15-16 students per class. The enrollment gains were also testing the university’s ability to “make sure services and resources are available,” said Boyd. Among other things, Hampton provides about 23 percent of its entering freshmen with merit-based scholarships, some funded from income on its $250 million endowment.

Tough times

At Bowie State University in Prince George's County, Md., the lingering bite of the Great Recession made its presence known on the recruiting home stretch as many students who had signed up for this fall were unable to pay their enrollment bills before deadline, an unexpected turn of events that hurt an otherwise successful recruiting campaign. At Bowie State, where tuition is under $5,000 a year, enrollment slipped to 5,421 students from 5,602 in Fall 2011. Its goal was to “incrementally” exceed the 2011 enrollment level.

"Our students this year were experiencing more financial difficulty," said Cassandra Robinson, director of university relations and marketing, echoing officials interviewed at several other institutions. "Families did not seem as prepared as in typical years," said Robinson, noting "a lot of the decline was entering students."

Like other tuition-driven institutions, such as Benedict College and Clark Atlanta University, Bowie State, whose enrollment is dominated by students in need of state, federal and private donor and lender aid to make college costs work for them, found many parents were unable to put up funds to help with tuition bills. Robinson and officials at several other schools also cited what they characterized as an alarming surge in

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Posted: 3:48 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012

Morehouse College cuts spending after enrollment drops

By Laura Diamond

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Morehouse College says it will furlough faculty and staff and make other budget cuts because of a drop in enrollment.

The Atlanta college is teaching 2,360 students — about 125 fewer than projected, Interim Provost Willis Sheftall said Thursday. He attributed the drop to the sluggish economy and changes to a federal loan program that has led to enrollment declines at historically black colleges around the country.

Normally about 8 percent of Morehouse students who pay a deposit to attend don't enroll, but it doubled to 16 percent this year, in part because of the new loan rules.

"This is a challenge, no question about that," Sheftall said. "But it is not a crisis."

Colleges across the country have reported an increase in loan denials after the U.S. Department of Education tightened standards for the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students. Prospective borrowers can't have any defaults, foreclosures, bankruptcies, tax liens or wage garnishments within the past five years.

The department has said the tighter regulations protect taxpayer money and prevent people from accumulating debt they can't afford.

Unlike other federal loans there is no cap for this program and parents can borrow enough money to pay the full cost for their children to attend college. Nearly 1 million families borrowed more than $10 billion last year.

Locally, Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College also say enrollment dropped in part because of the new rules.

Loan denials at Clark Atlanta increased from 25 percent last year to more than 65 percent this year, President Carlton Brown said in a statement.

The university's enrollment dropped by 443 students to 3,400 this fall. As a result the school has cut travel and other spending, and all requests to fill positions will be vetted through the Enrollment Crisis Committee, Brown wrote.

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“We will, where possible, pursue contractual reductions,” he said.

Spelman's fall enrollment dropped by a dozen students to 2,074 this fall. That's above the school's 2,050 target and the college doesn't expect to adjust its budget. Spelman provided additional scholarships to students who were denied the federal loan.

Morehouse plans to increase fundraising efforts so it can offer more scholarships and grants to students whose families are denied a PLUS loan, Sheftall said.

To cut spending the college plans “no more than five furlough days,” he said. Most faculty and managers will take their days during spring break while other staff spread their days throughout the budget year, he said.

During the spring semester Morehouse will reduce the number of part-time faculty, which Sheftall said could increase the number of students in some classes and give students fewer course sections to choose from.

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Posted by poblack at 6:25 p.m. Oct. 18, 2012

Report Abuse

Please let the holy spirit make us steadfast, honest, true...

Posted by robertbyrd at 9:06 p.m. Oct. 18, 2012

Report Abuse

Hope and change sounds good on paper but reality bites. Obama has failed young black men.

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• Posted by NicholasJ at 9:13 p.m. Oct. 18, 2012
• Report Abuse

I don't like to see any institution of higher learning struggling but to say Obama has failed young black men because the government has imposed stricter standards on its loan program in order to protect the public or any other of his policies is ridiculous. He hasn't failed me in the slightest, in fact his decision to keep pell running SAVED me and has allowed me to attend a great institution that has pretty decently ranked schools. I'd say that's a win in my book. Let's not make this a racial issue EVERY time Jesus.

• Posted by ctfatlanta at 9:25 p.m. Oct. 18, 2012
• Report Abuse

Maybe finally time to take a critical look at the education experience offered at HBCUs. While every other college in GA, has upgraded and expanded (including private schools) in the last 15 years, Spelman, Morehouse, and the like have relied on tradition draw students

• Posted by macro1 at 1:38 a.m. Oct. 19, 2012
• Report Abuse

the government needs to bail out the college with $20-$30 million until the economy improves.

• Posted by Lexi3 at 4:03 a.m. Oct. 19, 2012
• Report Abuse

The "government," which raises money by confiscating it from producers, does not "need" to bail out these schools. The government has no legitimate business extending loans at below market rates to its favorites. Only a free market will set interest rates at a proper level to match risk (default, inflation...) with reward. If these schools can't raise funds to continue to operate they should go gently into the night, and turn out the lights.

I suspect that the long term trend disfavors these schools because the demographics to which they are historically geared now have money thrown at them by colleges with larger endowments so that those schools can crow about their student body ratios.

• Posted by fhsmt at 4:44 a.m. Oct. 19, 2012
• Report Abuse

Upgrade the quality of and expand the number of students? You're joking, right?! Overall enrollment numbers have increased over the years and the end product continues to show that either they're getting top students or developing same! Both schools have a mission and they continue to strive to achieve it!! RE: "While every other college in GA, has upgraded and expanded (including private schools) in the last 15 years, Spelman, Morehouse, and the like have relied on tradition draw students"

Enrollment drops at A&T; financial aid less available to students : News-Record.com : Gr...

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Enrollment drops at A&T; financial aid less available to students

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• Comments (13)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

(Updated 2:11 pm)

Copyright 2012 News & Record. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By JONNELLE DAVIS

Staff Writer

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GREENSBORO — N.C. A&T officials are citing students' lack of financial resources as the main reason why the university failed to meet its enrollment goals this fall.

A&T has 10,659 students, down from 10,905 last fall.

Officials had set a goal of enrolling 11,037 students.

The university also fell short of other enrollment goals. A&T enrolled 1,858 freshmen this semester, 79 fewer than it wanted.

There are 496 new candidates for master's and doctoral degrees, 51 fewer than the university's goal.

Akua Matherson, A&T's interim associate

vice chancellor for enrollment management, cited students' inability to pay as the main reason that many of them did not return.

While there have been cuts in federal and state financial aid programs, Matherson noted other recent changes in those programs that may have stumped students and their parents.

For example, she said as part of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — a form that all students who want to receive financial aid must complete — families are required to submit tax transcripts instead of copies of their tax returns.

What's also telling, Matherson said, is that N.C. A&T's numbers were higher at the start of the semester. This showed that students were eligible to return to the university, but they weren't able to come up with the money to remain enrolled, she said.

Matherson said A&T is keeping in contact with those students and hopes they will return in the spring.

“We are working very closely with the schools and colleges to try and identify financial support and just other ways to reach out to our students and have them return,” she said.

Other area colleges have reported a drop in numbers, as well. UNCG's enrollment decreased, although the university saw an increase in its freshman and transfer numbers.

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Home / Alabama / Oakwood Sets Enrollment Mark while Numbers Drop at Alabama A&M

Oakwood Sets Enrollment Mark while Numbers Drop at Alabama A&M

HBCUDigest.com — October 5, 2011 — Leave a comment

Oakwood University set a record for enrollment this fall while enrollment at Alabama A&M University plummeted.

Enrollment at the University of Alabama in Huntsville remained even, a survey of area colleges conducted by The Times found.

Under first-year President Dr. Leslie Pollard, Oakwood eclipsed the 2,000-student mark for the first time with 2,006 students on campus for the fall semester. That's an increase of 4 percent from the 1,922 students last fall.

"The Oakwood family is deeply grateful for the blessing of this historic breakthrough," Pollard said. "We are both humbled and inspired by registering 2,006 students this term, especially in this challenging economy."

Read the full story at: Oakwood sets enrollment mark while numbers drop at Alabama A&M | al.com

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Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « on: September 06, 2010, 02:47:54 AM »

Alcorn State University saw the greatest growth percentage Jackson State University saw a decrease in enrollment this year Mississippi Valley State University had an enrollment decrease this year, as well

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DSU enrollment up

by Kaitlyn Tucker The Bolivar Commercial

Preliminary enrollment figures have been released for the eight public universities in Mississippi.

Delta State University is ranked with the second highest growth rate.

For the 2010 fall semester, Delta State estimates enrollment at 4,324, a 7.3 percent increase from last fall's 4,031 enrollment figure.

Over the last couple of years, Delta State has been working to increase enrollment through a new logo and tagline, advertising campaigns and heavy recruitment.

With six of the eight universities increasing enrollment from last fall, the state's trend seems positive.

"The trend lines indicate that more individuals are seeking to enhance their lives through increased post-secondary educational attainment," said Dr. Hank M. Bounds, commissioner of Higher Education. "We must find ways to support their efforts and increase retention and graduation rates in order to move Mississippi forward."

Across the state, enrollment figures have increased every year since 1994.

This year, the preliminary figures reveal a 4.1 percent increase over all — about 3,000 students.

Alcorn State University saw the greatest growth percentage. Enrollment increased 10.4 percent, from 3,334 students in 2009 to 3,682 in 2010.

The University of Mississippi saw 6.5 percent increase combined from both its campuses. Overall, Ole Miss had 18,344 students in 2009 and has 19,536 this semester.

At the main campus in Oxford, there were 15,932 students in 2009 and there are now 17,067 — a 7.1 percent increase.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center had 2,412 students last year and increased to 2,469 students this year — 2.4 percent increase.

Mississippi State University saw a 5.6 percent increase this year. They had 18,601 students last fall and are currently 2 free night AT HY

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sitting at 19,644 for this year.

Mississippi University for Women saw a 4.7 percent enrollment jump this fall. Last fall, the university had 2,476 students, while there are 2,592 students on campus this year.

The University of Southern Mississippi had a 3.2 percent increase this year. Last fall, enrollment hit 15,293 students. This year, enrollment is 15,778.

Jackson State University saw a decrease in enrollment this year. Last fall, the university had 8,783 students. This year, enrollment is down to 8,689 — a decrease of about 1.1 percent.

Mississippi Valley State University had an enrollment decrease this year, as well. The university is down 12.6 percent, with 2,491 students this year compared to last year's 2,850 enrollment.

http://www.bolivarcom.com/view/full_story/9379161/article-DSU-enrollment-up?instance=most_popular

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NovaSkegee Assistant GM Offline

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Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #1 on: September 06, 2010, 02:52:32 AM »

Jackson State University 1976: 7,928 2010: 8,689

Mississippi Valley State University 1976: 3,228 2010: 2,491

Alcorn State University 1976: 2,603 2010: 3,682

Last Edit: December 17, 2010, 12:51:03 AM by NovaSkegee Logged

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DRUMMA1 Assistant GM Assistant

Posts: 9501 Our loss of about 100 students can be attributed to the tuition increase. AV

Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #2 on: September 06, 2010, 02:19:25 PM »

Our loss of about 100 students can be attributed to the tuition increase.

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NovaSkegee

Assistant GM Assistant Offline Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #3 on: September 06, 2010, 06:27:00 PM »

Posts: 17002 Quote from: DRUMMA1 on September 06, 2010, 02:19:25 PM Our loss of about 100 students can be attributed to the tuition increase.

Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #3 on: September 06, 2010, 06:27:00 PM »

Quote from: DRUMMA1 on September 06, 2010, 02:19:25 PM Our loss of about 100 students can be attributed to the tuition increase.

A loss of a 100 students from time to time isn't too bad. It's bad if that's the start of a downward trend.

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DRUMMA1 Assistant GM DRUMMA1 Assistant Offline Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #4 on: September 06, 2010, 06:50:45 PM »

Posts: 9501

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Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #4 on: September 06, 2010, 06:50:45 PM »

Quote from: NovaSkegee on September 06, 2010, 06:27:00 PM

Quote from: DRUMMA1 on September 06, 2010, 02:19:25 PM Our loss of about 100 students can be attributed to the tuition increase.

A loss of a 100 students from time to time isn't too bad. It's bad if that's the start of a downward trend.

True. I very seriously doubt that this is the start of a downward trend for Jackson State's enrollment. With the academic, athletic, and physical plant success that the university has enjoyed, the enrollment will definately continue to increase. Great things are going on at JSU and a lot of prospective students desire to be apart of it.

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MrSoul Guest

SWAC Titles: 16 Football, 15 Baseball, 14 (M) Basketball, 14 (W) Basketball

Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment

∞ Reply #5 on: September 06, 2010, 08:08:01 PM

I didn't realize Alcorn State and Miss. Valley State had such small enrollments for FCS schools.

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NovaSkegee Assistant GM Assistant

Posts: 17002 Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #6 on: September 06, 2010, 09:12:30 PM »

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Re: Alcorn State University is only Mississippi HBCU to gain enrollment « Reply #6 on: September 06, 2010, 09:12:30 PM »

Quote from: DRUMMA1 on September 06, 2010, 06:50:45 PM

True. I very seriously doubt that this is the start of a downward trend for Jackson State's enrollment. With the academic, athletic, and physical plant success that the university has enjoyed, the enrollment will definately continue to increase. Great things are going on at JSU and a lot of prospective students desire to be a part of it.

You're correct. Also, at many of the flagship state universities there are years where the enrollment can go down one fall and then the next fall actually grow much larger than even the year of larger enrollment, before the declined year.

Pages: [1]

The big problem is at these university that don't grow at all and the ones the declined and have never rebounded to their largest historical sizes. That's when one knows the university or college is having some serious issues that need major corrections fast.

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MILES COLLEGE REACHES RECORD ENROLLMENT THIS FALL

Posted by Brittney Quarles on September 26, 2012 in Buzzing News Leave a comment

Some new students at Miles College were surprised to get hotel "housing" instead of the usual dorm room this year. This is due to a record Fall enrollment at the college which has left dormitories at capacity. There are now over 1,800 students on campus. That's a 9% increase from last year.

"Our dormitories are full to capacity, students are everywhere," said Miles President George T. French, Jr.

"It was a very deliberate and strategic process. We brought in a new enrollment team. We were very aggressive in recruiting across the nation," said French. With the added students comes added facilities: a new dining hall, a welcome/admissions center, and a new 240 bed residence hall. "You know sometimes when we have growth it can be an inconvenience. Yet the progress and the growth that can be done, it will be long benefiting, and they're just excited about that," said Miss Miles College Bianca Moore. "I'm very excited especially being the SGA president, to see the success and the growth," said SGA president Michael Childress. The school could surpass 2000 students by the 2013-2014 academic year. Read the full article here

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Home (http://www.ai.com) > Breaking News from The Huntsville Times (http://blog.ai.com/breaking/) > Education (http://blog.ai.com/breaking/education/index_48.html)

Oakwood sets enrollment mark while numbers drop at Alabama A&M

Published: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 7:56 AM Updated: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 2:05 PM

(http://connect.al.com/user/pgattis/index.html)

By Paul Gattis, The Huntsville Times (http://connect.al.com/user/pgattis/index.html) Follow

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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Oakwood University (http://www.oakwood.edu/) set a record for enrollment this fall while enrollment at Alabama A&M University (http://www.aamu.edu/Pages/default.aspx) plummeted.

Enrollment at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (http://www.uah.edu/) remained even, a survey of area colleges conducted by The Times found.

Under first-year President Dr. Leslie Pollard, Oakwood eclipsed the 2,000-student mark for the first time with 2,006 students on campus for the fall semester. That's an increase of 4 percent from the 1,922 students last fall.

"The Oakwood family is deeply grateful for the blessing of this historic breakthrough," Pollard said. "We are both humbled and inspired by registering 2,006 students this term, especially in this challenging economy."

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At Alabama A&M, enrollment dropped 12.4 percent since the fall of 2010. The school reported a fall enrollment this year of 5,095, down from the 5,814 enrolled at this time last year.

"We're looking at the current economy," Alabama A&M Vice President Wendy Kobler said. "We believe that's an account for the drop in student enrollment. Basically, we are pleased with the enrollment numbers. We think it's a reflection upon the excellent education our students receive at Alabama A&M."

As a school classified as a Historically Black College and University, Alabama A&M compares itself to other HBCUs. Kobler said the trend among HBCUs was a decline in enrollment.

"Basically, (Alabama A&M's enrollment) appears to be similar to the enrollment trends at other HBCUs around the country," Kobler said.

However, several HBCUs throughout the South are seeing record-high enrollments this fall. Jackson State in Mississippi is up 2.3 percent to a high of 8,903 students. Tennessee State in Nashville has reached a high of 9,165 - a bump of 2.6 percent.

Grambling University in Louisiana is up 4.3 percent to 5,207 students. Closer to home, Alabama State in Montgomery is essentially even - adding 23 students to 5,429 from last fall.

One HBCU that has taken a hit this fall is Southern University in Baton Rouge, which is down more than 5 percent to 6,915 students.

Asked if the continuing inquiry by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools at Alabama A&M was a factor in the enrollment drop, Kobler said, "One would have nothing to do with the other. We're not hearing that. Our students aren't telling us that. I haven't heard that at all from admissions."

At UAH, spokesman Ray Garner attributed the modest increase to a small freshman class last year.

That freshman class was the first since the campus shootings in February 2010 that left three instructors dead. Assistant Professor Amy Bishop was charged in the killings. She pleaded not guilty by reason of mental defect last month.

Freshman enrollment is up more than 9 percent over fall 2010, Garner said, to 677 students. UAH has an enrollment of 7,629 - an increase of 15 students.

UAH also graduated more than 1,400 students from the 2010-11 academic year, which set a record.

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Corrected at 1:01 p.m. today with Alabama A&M's enrollment down 12.3 percent.

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dral229 (http://connect.al.com/user/dral229/index.html)

...maybe a safer and more academic environment has something to do with it...fewer jocks, jerks and thugs with more emphasis on education and less on sports...???

(http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 2:01:49 PM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/post/2011-10-05/17345625.html) Reply

whynotminot (http://connect.al.com/user/whynotminot/index.html) more harrell barff.....

□ (http://al.com/)

Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 11:05:40 AM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/post/2011-10-05/17342396.html)

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harrell (http://connect.al.com/user/harrell/index.html)

Fewer Marines don't make less the quality of our soldiers in our Army. Does it? The higher standards to get a degree from Alabama A&M University cause or forces some students to take their chances of getting a degree at other places or schools, like at trade schools or religious schools. Same as some folks prefer the Coast Guard as to the Marines when seeking a branch of the military to serve. Then on top of that, with descendants of former Slaves' children having an unemployment rate in America at about 35% or higher, we can expect to see a loss of 1,000 or so students attending college at Alabama A&M University, or any college originally for the descendant children of former Slaves, not just Alabama A&M University. Then on top of that, what good is it to get a top-notched college degree from a college as seen on t.v. when no jobs are available for most of the graduates in today's economy? It makes no sense to me to brag about high numbers of students, when folks already with college degrees have no where to apply their learned educational skills.

In other words, this article is just another negative portrayal of Alabama A&M University for no reason other than to just write something. We never read about Marines numbers being low and then the Army soldiers are bragged on because lots of folks like the Army and Army numbers are high as opposed to the Marine Corp. numbers, when you need to go somewhere to get a JOB because nobody is hiring.

Personally, I'll be glad when the numbers get down to about 3,000 students at Alabama A&M University with all graduates getting a job in their perspective fields of study. Rather than having all of these unhappy folks walking around with college degrees and working at Wal-Mart as store greeters and then blame Obama for no jobs being in America for them. Then Obama, with a Harvard University Law Degree has to look like a moron and say he is trying to create jobs, when it known that

Page 5 of 12

presidents can't do anything to create jobs in America, only do things to cause jobs to flee America, as in the policies of the last four or five presidents in America since Richard Nixon first took that trip to China looking for a partner in commerce or capitalism. (http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 10:31:33 AM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/post/2011-10-05/17341705.html) Reply

ocelot (http://connect.al.com/user/ocelot/index.html)

The article says

"At Alabama A&M, enrollment dropped almost 9 percent since the fall of 2010. The school reported a fall enrollment this year of 5,095 - off 8.8 percent from the 5,814 enrolled at this time last year."

By my calculation, that's a 12.3% drop, not 8.8%.

-Ocelot

(http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 10:09:22 AM http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/post/2011-10-05/17341304.html) Reply harrell (http://connect.al.com/user/harrell/index.html) 5,095 as a percentage of 5,815 is 8.8%. Example of folks wanting even the worse to be even worst for Alabama A&M University and then on top of that can't even count. (http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 10:40:10 AM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/post/2011-10-05/17341894.html) Reply

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harrell (http://connect.al.com/user/harrell/index.html) Sure,

My pleasure. 5,095 students (currently) divided by 5,815 students (previously) is approximately 8.8%. It's like 10 divided by 100 equals 10%. (http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 4:47:22 PM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/pc-10-05/17348742.html)

(http://al.com/) Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 4:47:22 PM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/pc-10-05/17348742.html)

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ocelot (http://connect.al.com/user/ocelot/index.html) Harrell,

Unfortunately, that is not the correct calculation.

The current enrollment as a fraction of the previous enrollment is 5095/5815 = (approx) 0.876.

To compute the percentage (that is the number per hundred), you have to multiply by 100.

100 * 0.876 is 87.6%. So the current enrollment is 87.6% of the old enrollment.

87.6% - 100% = -12.4%. Current enrollment is 12.4% less than the previous year's enrollment.

-Ocelot

(http://al.com/) Monday, October 10, 2011, 2:03:11 PM (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoods_sets_enrollment_mark.html/pc-10-10/17417969.html)