SMSU Enrollment Up in Spring 2024

Published Wednesday, February 14, 2024

SMSU enrollment up for Spring 2024

Enrollment at Southwest Minnesota State University continues to climb. strong, The number of students enrolled at the university this spring has grown more than 8% compared to the spring 2023 term according to SMSU President Kumara Jayasuriya.

SMSU has become one of the fastest-growing universities in the Minnesota State system, he said. Growth in enrollment numbers will also allow SMSU to continue to invest in resources for students, he said.

There are a total of 2,449 students enrolled at SMSU this spring, Jayasuriya said. That’s an increase of 191 students, or 8.5%, from spring 2023. This spring’s full-year equivalent (FYE) enrollment, which measures how many credit hours students are taking, also grew 8.7% compared to spring 2023.

The enrollment data does not include high school students who are taking college classes through concurrent enrollment or PSEO programs, Jayasuriya said.

The enrollment news comes after SMSU announced that university enrollment was also up in fall 2023. After the first 10 days of the fall term, SMSU said that overall student enrollment had grown by 125 students, or 5.2% from the previous fall, with an FYE enrollment increase of 6.2%.

In September, the university also reported that the number of new first-year students enrolled at SMSU had grown by 10.8% from 2022. The retention rate for students was around 69%.

Jayasuriya said a trio of programs — the Mustang Pathway Program, Access Opportunity Success, and SUCCESS (Scaling Up College Completion Efforts for Student Success) — have continued to help SMSU increase both enrollment and retention of students. All three programs are dedicated to supporting students from historically underserved populations.

“There are areas we think we can grow,” when it comes to student enrollment, Jayasuriya said.

While many students who come to SMSU stay, there are some area high school graduates who look outside Minnesota for college, he said.

Currently, social work, psychology and education are some of the most popular majors at SMSU. But Jayasuriya said the university is also excited about developments like the establishment of the North Star Mutual School of Business, in partnership with North Star Mutual Insurance Company of Cottonwood. In 2023, North Star Mutual Insurance announced it would make a $3 million investment in the school of business, which would include programs like accounting, management, marketing and business administration, as well as enhanced curriculum in risk management.

Growth in enrollment makes a big impact on SMSU’s financial situation, Jayasuriya said. “It will allow us to make investments in several areas.”

Jayasuriya said SMSU would be hiring a total of 46 new faculty and staff members. Some of the projects the university is also planning include a model classroom for education students, which would be an investment of $500,000, and a science lab that would be a $300,000 investment. Enrollment growth also helps make it possible for the university to offer an increased number of scholarships to students, he said.

This article appeared in the February 14, 2024 edition of the Marshall Independent.