Norfolk State University officials announced this week a projection for increased enrollment this fall semester.
According to a release, the school that has been plagued by enrollment inconsistency for the last five years expects to enroll 1,500 freshmen and transfer students, with an admitted freshman pool exceeding 3,200 students. That number doubles the admission benchmark of a year ago.
Dr. Michael Shackleford, NSU’s new associate vice president of enrollment management, indicated that the number of completed freshmen applications is around 3,782. This is 1,100 more than the total number of freshmen applications from the previous year. Overall, NSU’s early enrollment projection for the fall 2016 semester is around 5,100 students, but there is potential to exceed that number, Shackleford said.
“We’ve been working hard to recruit students and let them know about the benefits of an NSU education,” Shackleford said. “We offer high-quality degree programs, in the classroom and online, for traditional and non-traditional students.
The university has made significant gains in the last two years, attracting national headlines for its receipt of a multi-million cybersecurity grant from the US Department of Homeland Security in January 2015. In December, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges removed the university from probation status for issues with finance, governance and academic management.
Several HBCUs, including North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central and Howard have reported positive projections for fall enrollment.
