By Jonathan Smith, Editor in Chief

The university welcomed the third largest entering class in school history this year with 1,182 new undergraduate students.

A year removed from receiving the largest class in university history and graduating a large senior class, total enrollment dropped 83 students to 4,703 when administrators announced Wednesday the 12th day enrollment figures—the figures considered as the official enrollment numbers that are released the third week of each semester.

Robert Heil, director of admissions, said the university forecasted the drop a year ago when it saw the large size of last year’s graduating class compared to this year’s smaller senior class.

“We anticipated that; we budgeted for that,” Heil said. “And our enrollment is right at where we expected.”

Heil said the large incoming class is a result of several programs that have attracted new students, such as the Body and Soul Program aimed at premed and predental students and College of Business Administration programs that have increased its entering class by about 60 students in two years.

“We’ve also been very intentional in involving alumni in the recruiting process,” Heil said. “We’re expanded our presence in key markets.”

With the regular admissions staff and the volunteer alumni, Heil said this network of workers has been able to expand the university’s recruiting influence.

Heil said his office operated from several goals for this recruiting year. First, Heil said they aimed for at least 1,000 new freshman, and they exceeded that by 32 students. Heil also said they looked for growth in graduate programs, and its enrollment—which now stands at 567 students—has jumped during the past two years.