Southeast could see record enrollment

This fall, Southeast Missouri State University could have the most students it's had on campus in its 129-year history, topping last year's record enrollment of 9,352 students.

"It is very possible," said Dr. Pauline Fox, vice president of administration and enrollment management.

Fox said large freshmen classes have boosted enrollment in recent years. This year is no exception with an estimated 1,600 beginning freshmen enrolled in classes, which begin Aug. 19.

Freshmen will begin moving into campus residence halls on Thursday, followed by upperclassmen over the weekend. The annual invasion crowds city streets and university parking lots with cars and vans crammed with everything from clothes to home computers and televisions.

As for returning students, they'll see some changes on the south end of campus with the opening for the fall semester of a new 293-bed residence hall on Henderson Avenue and an expanded dining center at the nearby University Center to handle the additional students who will be eating there.

Southeast's goal is to grow to about 10,000 students over the next four years.

The school's Board of Regents capped freshmen enrollment last summer, citing bulging residence halls and classrooms.

This time around, school officials didn't cap enrollment because they thought the number of beginning freshmen would be in the 1,600 range. Fox said the university could handle that many new freshmen, but not many more than that.

The university probably would have capped enrollment again this year if a larger freshman class had been projected, Fox said.

Freshman Janet Johnson of Fredericktown, Mo., knows she'll be coming to a crowded campus. She said 9,000 students is a lot of people. "That's more people than live in my hometown," she said. Fredericktown has a population of just under 4,000.

Johnson will move into Cheney Hall, one of the smaller residence halls. She didn't want to live in the high-rise Towers residence halls because she doesn't like tall buildings.

Residence halls nearly full

Johnson is one of about 2,500 students who will be living in campus residence halls this fall. That's a couple hundred more than last year, school officials said.

The residence halls are all nearly filled, said Jim Settle, director of Residence Life, the office that manages campus housing.

The new $13 million five-story residence hall on Henderson Avenue is expected to be nearly full, mostly with returning students who got first choice at living in the building, Settle said.

Construction workers spent last week putting the finishing touches on the building, which has suite-style rooms and will house about 70 students per floor. "It looks great," Settle said.

He and other school officials said they pleased that the campus residence halls will be full, but not overcrowded like last year.

With the addition of the new, as-yet-unnamed hall, Southeast could house as many 2,700 students on campus.

But Settle said that wouldn't leave any flexibility for students to switch rooms or to house any students who sign up at the last minute. "Everybody would have a bed, but there would not be a whole lot of space," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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