Mizzou's enrollment plummet is more drastic than previously projected This fall could mark the smallest class of incoming freshmen at the University of Missouri-Columbia in nearly a decade as the school continues to lose students, partly because of last fall's protests.
The university on Wednesday announced the amount of students paying freshman tuition deposits — a key indicator of coming enrollment — has decreased by 1,470 compared to last year.
It's a nearly 600 fewer students than what was projected in February, when the university was estimating 900 fewer incoming freshmen.
What it means is that Mizzou could have a freshman class of fewer than 5,000 students for the first time since 2007.
In contrast, the university enrolled 7,600 freshmen last fall. That number includes second-year students who did not complete enough credits to qualify as sophomores.
University administrators note that they've been expecting a drop-off for some time, as there are fewer high school students in the pipeline.
But last's fall's protests have also played a part.
“As we've been talking to prospective students and parents, we've been told the events of last fall have played a role in their decision-making process,” spokesman Christian Basi said.
School administrators have said they are seeing less interest from out-of-state students, and recruiters are hearing more concerns from students in the Chicago area, in particular.
Barbara Rupp, the university's director of admissions has said there's potential to lose students from rural areas, given how polarizing last fall's protests were.
The enrollment woes are just some of the problems Mizzou has faced since the campus found itself in the national spotlight late last year as students protested a series of racist incidents, eventually toppling the university's top leadership.
State lawmakers threatened to cut Mizzou's funding and donors rescinded roughly $2 million in pledged donations.
But Basi is adamant that the university is fundamentally healthy.
“Since November, our researchers have been awarded $50 million in grants,” he said. “And donors have given gifts exceeding $65 million, also since November.”
Even so, Basi said the university will be looking for possible tweaks to recruiting strategies with an eye toward the fall of 2017 class.
In particular, recruiters will expand to different parts of Chicago, Dallas and other cities, while working more closely with high school counselors to counter any stigma associated with Mizzou, he said.
In particular, Mizzou is battling a perception that its campus is unsafe.
“The events of last fall were nonviolent. We had no episodes of violence. And any threats were immediately acted upon,” Basi said. He added that Mizzou's police department has been protected from budget cuts, and the department is in the process of adding more officers.
“The perception out there is different from what a student would experience on campus,” Basi said. “The biggest thing is for students and parents is to come visit us and see what we have to offer.”
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