With a new semester beginning an old problem has arisen on campus – a drop in enrollment.

Although the official figures have not come in, administration expects a slight drop from the spring semester of 2003. Administration is not worried about the drop, but sees it as a trend. Dr. Delores Honey, assistant vice president for assessment and institutional research, said Missouri Southern is watching the trend, and it will turn around.

“I think it is an ongoing cycle that we are in, I think, that has come through several semesters,” Honey said.

She said one reason she believes enrollment is down is because of the increase in tuition in fall 2002 from $102 per credit hour to $124 per credit hour. It was then increased last semester to $127 per credit hour.

Other administrators agree with Honey. Dr. Betsy Griffin, interim vice president for academic affairs, said she believes the increase in tuition hurt Southern’s enrollment figures, and the drop is not something to worry about.

“We predicted a couple of years ago, when we changed some of our admission policies, that we would have a drop in our overall enrollment,” Griffin said. “In addition to that change, the economy went sour and tuition increased. The college has been through those kinds of changes in the past.”

Honey also believes the A+ Program helped in the decrease in enrollment.

“I think the A+ Program had certainly impacted our ability to compete,” Honey said. “It’s hard to compete with zero. Zero tuition is very intriguing to a parent of a student who is about to be sent off to school.”

Honey said the A+ Program was an act of legislation that allows high school students who have taken certain classes to apply for an A+ designation on their diploma. After graduation from high school, the student must go to college or a vocational or technical school. If this is done, then the student will be reimbursed by the state for tuition.

Because of the way the legislation was written Southern was excluded in taking part in this program, thus causing other colleges and universities to enroll students with no cost to the student. She also believes Southern’s increasing academic standards have something to do with the drop.

“We don’t have an open admission anymore,” Honey said. “That is a different message you send to students in the area. Of course, 85 percent of our students come from the several counties around us.”

Derek Skaggs, director of enrollment services, said because of the late registration going on the exact numbers will not be in until Feb. 6. Skaggs said there “won’t be too many additions” from the late enrollment. Estimated figures have shown there is a drop of 330 students compared to the 2003 spring semester. In spring 2003 there were 5,188 students enrolled. The current 2004 estimates have 4,858 students enrolled.

“I think that is to be expected, because we were down more than that in the fall,” Griffin said. “If you have a small fall, you will expect to have at least the same amount of drop in the spring. But we were not as far down in spring as in the fall, and that’s a pretty good picture.”

Honey said there is a bigger drop in part-time students enrolled in the University than full-time students.

“The part-time students are ones who more usually drop than the full-time students,” she said. “Normally, part-time students come for one class or three, not as many as the full-time students. [They are] not as committed to school as the full-time students.”

Skaggs said Southern is doing a number of things to help keep students enrolled and picking up prospective students.

“One of the things we’ve got for tuition is we’ve held tuition at the normal amount of increase,” Skaggs said. “The residence hall fees have already been set for next year. Our scholarship programs have been revamped. I think they are more competitive for higher ability students.”

Honey believes enrollment will come back up because Southern became a university and will be able to offer new master’s degree programs.

Griffin also believes enrollment will come back up.

“I think we will recover enrollment as the economy gets better and as people get used to the new standards at the college,” she said.