By Laura Acuff, Opinion Editor
ACU officials announced enrollment numbers for fall 2008 Wednesday, confirming this year’s freshman class is the third largest in the last six years, according to an ACU press release.
“We had an aggressive enrollment goal,” said director of Admissions Haley Webb. “To have the success that we did was something we attributed to the hard work put forth by our campus-wide partners and the entire enrollment staff.”
Nine hundred and seventy-four students enrolled in the 2008 freshman class compared to 890 enrolled freshmen in 2007, a difference of 84 students.
The difference partially may be attributed to the Mobile Learning Initiative implemented this fall, but no one can know its exact impact; it definitely excited students,Webb said.
While the greater enrollment numbers required some adjusting, Webb said the ACU community has handled it well and was happy to do so.
Changes this year included the housing of some freshman men in Edwards Hall and the reopening of McDonald hall, which remained empty of residents last year.
Graduate and online programs also increased enrollment; 764 graduate students and 260 online students enrolled this fall compared to last year’s 679 and 124 students, respectively.
“There’s a lot of excitement right now at ACU,” said Phil Schubert, executive vice president for ACU, in an ACU press release.
“We have a lot of innovative programs and initiatives, and that creates vibrancy on campus. We are committed to promoting an environment that is innovative and real; when students come to our campus, we want them to see that what we promote is real. This is a great time for students to choose ACU,” he said.
ACU boasts more than 4,500 students from 47 states and 68 nations. Webb said progressively increasing enrollment is an admissions’ goal.
“We believe that future classes will be this big and we intend to continue to grow enrollment,” he said.
Enrollment figures are traditionally finalized on the twelfth day of class, giving students time to adapt to new environments and adjust schedules, Webb said.
