MSU records largest increase in first-time students in 25 years

Missouri State University’s Springfield campus opened the fall semester with 3,194 first-time students, an increase of 387, or 13.8 percent, compared to last year.

The increase in the number of first-time students is the largest since 1987, according to a news release.

In all, MSU’s Springfield campus opened the fall semester with 20,334 students, a 2.6 percent bump compared to the same semester last year.

The university is poised to set an enrollment record when the official census is conducted next month on the 20th day of classes, according to the release. The enrollment reports will be available Sept. 16.
 
“It’s a credit to our faculty, staff, alumni, donors and current students that we are experiencing such an exciting period of growth,” MSU President Clif Smart said in the release. “We’re so pleased to be headed toward another record enrollment, and it’s notable that our new student numbers are so strong relative to what we are seeing across the state.”
 
The number of first-time students is the largest since the university began implementing selective admission standards in 1995. The all-time record for freshmen was set in 1989 at 3,747 when standards were more modest, according to the release.
 
Enrollment also is up in other student categories, the release said, including underrepresented students, up 8.5 percent, students from other states, up 7.4 percent, and graduate students, up 0.7 percent.
 
Late registration is scheduled to continue in Springfield through Aug. 21, and registration in high school dual-credit courses and other special courses will continue through early September, according to the release.