Over the past few years, Southern University has seen a drastic decline in the number of students enrolling at the University. Many speculations have been made as to the cause of this deficit in enrollment. Most students, especially upperclassman, see financial aid and disorganization as the main cause of students not wanting to attend the University. General enrollment at Southern has increased to almost 7,000 students (530 more than it was this time last year), however the University is still 700 enrollees away from its target goal of 7,700.
Dr. Cecilia Golden, who was instated last year as the University’s Associate, Assistant Provost, says that, though she’s been here a year, she is still unsure why enrollment is down. She does suggest that economic difficulties and the opportunities available for students to attend other institutions are a couple of things that may be influencing the drop in enrollment at Southern. As far as financial aid being one of the main reasons students turn away from the university, Golden says “I think last years experience probably left a bitter taste in a lot of student’s mouths. I would not deny that, but I think this year’s experience, for those who came back, everybody said it was so much better.”
To help prevent a reoccurrence of last year’s financial aid horror, the University adopted a few new techniques. Upon returning to the University this semester, many students witnessed a difference in the location of the Financial Aid staff. Registration and the Cashier’s Office were located in a area separate from financial aid. This was done so that students who had simple registration issues or only had to pay their balance due weren’t subject to overcrowding and long lines. Also, on July 21st thru 24th the University hosted a Financial Aid Resolution program that serviced over a thousand students. “What we’re going to do next year, we’re going to separate students who have questions like, where’s the posting of my scholarship, not that I didn’t do my FASFA, I need verification; or I’ve got to file for a loan. So we’re going to move that so you’ll go to a either different line, so you won’t have to wait behind all those others.”, says Dr. Golden. She assures the Digest and the University’s students, “We’re doing the problem solving.”
While administration associate the drop with economic difficulties and scholastic competition, students are looking at sources within the institution as major contributors to the lost of interest in the University. Mystee Burrell, a senior English Liberal Arts major, who enrolled into the University her Sophomore year of college, declared that “I wanted to be at an HBCU.” Burrell, who prior to entering Southern University was a student at a predominantly white institution, admitted that her other school was more organized and that faculty was more accessible. She declares that she’s a retained student of the University because she enjoys the cultural experience that Southern offers to many of its students. Another student at the University also credit’s the enrollment drop to the disorganization of Financial Aid. Tia Ford, a freshman interested in Nelson Mandela’s School of Urban and Public Policy, told the Digest that she too had financial aid issues and suggests that the university should become more organized. Though most students agree that the University has a lot of things to fix, Junior, Women’s Basketball Player Jamie Floyd says that she’s never had a problem at the university.
The future of the University is unknown, but hope has come again as the University witnesses increases in enrollment. Though there is a lot of speculation, no one knows exactly what has caused enrollment to drop, but one thing remains certain, it has had a tremendous effect on the University and its students.
Enrollment rises at SU; effects from last year linger
Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
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