In some places, you might have heard college enrollment is down, as students can’t afford to go to school and have to work instead. That’s apparently not the case at
Saginaw Valley State University, which just marked its highest-ever enrollment for the fall 2011 semester.
The number of total students, including incoming freshmen, residential students and international students, is 10,790 who are taking classes this semester. That just beats last year’s previous record of 10,656. The incoming freshman class was part of that, with 1,777 students, an increase over last year’s high of 1,753.
"This is a healthy total enrollment," says James Dwyer, VP for enrollment management. "We’re especially pleased to see growth in the freshman class; it’s an indication that interest in Saginaw Valley remains high during these tough economic times."
Numbers in other categories also were up; 2,734 students are living on campus; 16 more than last year. 542 international students arrived at SVSU; up from 459 in 2010. Most come from Saudi Arabia and China, Dwyer says.
However, the stakes for those new students are higher than ever before; under federal guidelines that go into effect for the fall 2011 semester, freshmen who do not have a GPA of at least 2.0 at the end of their freshman year will be ineligible for federal financial aid.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: James Dwyer, Saginaw Valley State University
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