Southern Arkansas University, the fastest growing university in Arkansas in the fall, continues to gain momentum and students as spring enrollment rose above the record-setting fall numbers and jumped 26.5-percent over last spring.
The total number of students at SAU is 4,193, which was reported to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education on 11th class day on Thursday, January 28, 2016. This number was 55 higher than SAU’s record fall enrollment.
“We are extremely excited about the number of students who have chosen SAU as their university home this spring. It is incredible to see the spring enrollment larger than the fall. That is a very rare occurrence on a university campus,” said SAU President Dr. Trey Berry.
This spring overall enrollment record is just the tip of the iceberg as other campus enrollment totals are also the highest ever for SAU spring numbers: undergraduate total of 2,882 (171 more than last spring), graduate total of 1,311 (707 more than last spring), freshmen total of 726 (122 more than last spring), and SAU Housing enrollment of 1,444 (125 above last spring).
“From talking with many our students, it seems clear that they are being attracted to the unique and vibrant academic programs at SAU, to our affordability, and to the atmosphere of caring so evident on this campus,” said Berry.
SAU has experienced enrollment records for three years in a row. During this time, SAU has established several new and unique programs that are proving popular in region. SAU Engineering, which launched fall 2013, already posted an enrollment in fall of 172 students. SAU’s Game Development and Animation Design programs have attracted 66 students to Magnolia. Marine Biology is also growing with 17 declared majors.
SAU’s balance of affordability and quality has caught the attention of national higher education publications with several regional and national recognitions. The most recent accolade for SAU was a sixth in the nation ranking for affordability among small universities by BestValueSchools.com. The U.S. Department of Education also reported SAU as the most affordable and with the highest return on investment among any university in Arkansas.
Two new residence halls are under construction to provide additional rooms by fall 2016 thanks to the steady enrollment growth over the past several years. Plans are also in the works to expand SAU’s Blue and Gold Cafeteria.
