Colleges report strong spring enrollment

From Fresno Pacific University and Tabor College news releases

The two U.S. Mennonite Brethren colleges—Fresno Pacific University in Fresno, Calif., and Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.—announce good enrollment numbers for the spring semester.

Fresno Pacific University, the Mennonite Brethren university in Fresno, Calif., reports that enrollment for spring semester remains strong. According to February reports, spring enrollment rose for both traditional, undergraduate and graduate programs; projections for degree completion programs predict increases, as well. Official enrollment for the current academic year is 2,649, up 11 percent over the past two years.

FPU points to efforts to open more classes, increase financial aid and more quickly process applications as reasons for the success. Stephen Varvis, vice president for enrollment management, credits the cooperation of faculty and staff at the main campus and centers in North Fresno, Visalia and Bakersfield. “They showed that enrollment is everybody’s business,” he says.

An all-time recordnumber of students are enrolled for a spring semester at Tabor College, the Mennonite Brethren college in Hillsboro, Kan. Total head count for all programs on the Hillsboro and Wichita campuses is 621 students, compared to 590 students last spring. Total full-time equivalency is 561 students, compared to 543 students a year ago. Overall enrollment at the college grew almost 4 percent from the 2009 spring semester to the 2010 spring semester.

“Having record enrollment requires the grace of God, the hard work of many people, and the strategic decisions of those in leadership,” says President Jules Glanzer. The record-setting spring enrollment is bolstered by a concurrent rise in student retention.