By Paul A. Anthony, Editor in Chief

Spring enrollment increased in both number of students and number of hours over last spring.

Enrollment increased by 112 students over Spring 2003 to 4,403. A statement released by the university noted the figure is the second-highest for a spring semester.

“I’m pleased with the spring enrollment,” said Executive Vice President Jack Rich. “I think we’ve had some surprises in a positive sense. It’s too early to do anything more than that.”

The semester’s enrollment, which came close to budgeted numbers, likely will have no effect on the university’s planning for next year’s budget, which is in the process of being cut by more than $5 million.

“It shouldn’t really have an impact one way or the other,” Rich said.

The increase in head count enrollment breaks a two-year spring-to-spring slip, thanks largely to the graduate program, which increased its enrollment by about 60 from last spring, Rich said.

Graduate programs tend to grow when the economy struggles, as it has for several years, Rich noted. The university also added a graduate recruiter to bolster the program and bring it closer to Centennial goals.

The university had set goals of enrolling 4,800 to 5,200 students by 2006, about 800 of them in the Graduate School.

“We were overly optimistic-I would say unrealistic” in setting the graduate enrollment goal, Rich said. The school contains about 550 students. “I think it’s unlikely we’d get 800 graduate students. If we did, we’d be right in the middle of the 4,800 to 5,200.”

Recent declines in enrollment hours are partly a result of a better four-year graduation rate, Rich said, meaning fewer students are enrolled for fifth and sixth years.

“I refuse to see that as a bad thing,” he said. “One of our goals was to improve our graduation rate, and it was always in conflict with our enrollment goal.”