Enrollment of 12,056 students makes for record-breaking attendance at SHSU this spring. This breaks the previous record of 11,896 set in 1993.”I think word is getting out about Sam Houston,” said Undergraduate Admissions Director Joey Chandler.Chandler, along with Assistant Director Trevor Thorn, believes this is in part due to the increased amount of awareness the school has recently received and the new programs and degrees the school is offering.”New academic programs and new scholarships give the school a positive image,” Thorn said. “And having a new president has gotten it more attention.”Thorn added that unique degrees like Victims Studies and Web Authoring are very popular and draw new students to the university.Spring 2002 enrollment had 585 more students than last spring’s attendance of 11,471, an increase of 5.1 percent. The 2001 fall semester was also a record breaker, with 12,996 registered students.Director of Institutional Research Troy Courville said the university division with the biggest increase is the College of Business, with an 8.78 percent increase from last year. The College of Arts and Sciences is second with 4.62 percent, followed by Education and Criminal Justice with 4.4 percent and 1.06 percent, respectively.Thorn said that many different issues concerning students could affect the enrollment of each semester.”Finances, grades, any number of things,” Thorn said.Thorn also said recent changes in entrance requirements have also opened the door for more students.”Eventually, the change in admission requirements will enhance our student body, and eventually improve our numbers,” Thorn said.Chandler said programs that allow students to visit SHSU also help the university’s enrollment.”It’s important that we continue to have campus visitors,” Chandler said. “We feel that if we get them on campus, we have a good opportunity of getting them to become students.”Chandler said the increased enrollment lets people know about the growing diversity of SHSU.”The change shows that the university is moving in a positive direction,” Chandler said.
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