Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia has announced that its enrollment has increased 16.7 percent over last fall and has broken several overall enrollment records.
Included in SAU’s enrollment records are
- Total number of students — 4,138
- College of Science and Engineering enrollment — 1,704
- University housing enrollment — 1,605
- School of Graduate Studies enrollment — 1,015
- Freshmen class — 798
- International student population — 717
- Honors College — 178
These numbers were officially reported to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education on the 11th class day, Wednesday, Sept. 9.
“It is a great time to be at SAU! You can feel the excitement and energy on campus,” said SAU President Trey Berry. “Students are being attracted to SAU because of our rich and often unique academic programs, our affordability, and our increasing reputation as a caring institution.”
Over the past few years, SAU has established several new and unique programs that are proving popular in region. SAU Engineering, which launched fall 2013, already has an enrollment this fall of 172 students. SAU’s Game Development and Animation Design programs have attracted 66 students to Magnolia. Marine Biology is also growing with 17 declared majors.
SAU was recently ranked No. 6 in the nation for affordability among small universities by BestValueSchools.com.
Because of the steady enrollment increases, construction on a new residence hall is set to begin soon, with rooms ready for fall 2016. Other construction currently or soon to start on campus includes a new 13,000-square-foot, $2.75 million academic building for engineering; a $1 million track and field facility; and a $1 million expansion to the Mulerider Softball Complex.
Photos courtesy of Southern Arkansas University