With May 1 student deposits in, Belhaven eyes the fall. What will enrollment be?
While many private liberal arts colleges throughout the nation are feeling the bite of decreasing enrollment, Belhaven University is expecting an uptick this fall.
After the May 1 student deposit deadline, Belhaven has 290 deposits for traditional freshman students for the fall of 2024. That number is 43 students above its five-year average of 247 students. The school is also slightly ahead of its highest May deposit years of 289 and 285 respectively, according to Kevin Russell, Belhaven's vice president for university enrollment and marketing.
"While, Belhaven encourages all traditional students to deposit by May 1, we continue to work with all of our prospective applicants up until school starts," Russell said. "Typically, we see another 90 to 120 or so additional students that will deposit before the Aug. 15 move-in date."
This year Belhaven, located in midtown Jackson, is anticipating a traditional-student population of approximately 1,000 students. The total enrollment of Belhaven University was 4,400 students last fall with adult, graduate and online programs, making up the remaining enrollment.
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Most colleges throughout the nation and certain colleges in Mississippi as well are still dealing with stress from a form called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which opens the door to government help with tuition. This year, glitches and holdups with the form kept many vulnerable people from getting across the finish line.
"In Mississippi, normally we would have 84% of our graduating seniors who would have completed the FAFSA by now, but as of a month ago, that number was at 34%," Russell said. "Mississippi, generally is one one of the lowest filing FAFSA states in the country. So, we are hoping those students come into the mix a little later in the summer and that will help boost numbers."
He said there is a national fear that a lot of students will just opt of college altogether because of the difficulty filing for FAFSA.
"That is a real compounding factor for schools across the country in addition to so many other factors," Russell said. "I think long term, the FAFSA system will be better and easier for everyone, but right not it is a nightmare for everyone, but particularly for the students. The federal government executed this very, very poorly."
Meanwhile, Belhaven continues to recruit students and will continue throughout the summer months.
"We always want more students. I am sure everybody does," he said. "Having said that, we are pleased with where we stand right now. May 1 is really a national deposit date. We encourage the May 1 date, but we know we are going to keep working throughout the summer."
He said that college transfers will also make up a significant percentage of the deposits Belhaven will get in the next couple of months.
"It's a crazy time for sure," Russell said. "Ultimately, though, our goal would be to come in with between 380 and 400 new students. We definitely feel like we are on track for that based on the numbers we have right now. Honestly, we are somewhat amazed at the numbers we have based on all of the confusion with FAFSA and everything else that is out there."
The most freshmen to ever report for fall classes was in 2014 with 470.
"We would love to get to that number, but between 380 and 400 will certainly sustain us," Russell said.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Belhaven shares enrollment goal for fall
