Henderson State University's enrollment is running higher than it did about this time last year, in keeping with the administration's projections.
After encountering a $3.2 million deficit entering fiscal 2018, the Arkadelphia-based university's board approved a balanced budget for fiscal 2019, predicated in part on a projection that enrollment would increase this fall. The university had cited declining enrollment in recent years as a factor in its financial problems.
But the projected enrollment turnaround now appears to be on track, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday.
Those numbers show that undergraduate enrollment for the fall semester totaled 2,984 and graduate enrollment was 506 as of Tuesday, HSU spokesman Tina Hall said in an email. By comparison, enrollment as of about this time last year -- Aug. 14, 2017 -- totaled 2,807 undergraduate students and 458 graduate students.
"Enrollment numbers continue to change as students are still registering for classes," which begin Tuesday, Hall said.
In a report this summer to the Higher Learning Commission, a national accrediting agency, HSU projected that total enrollment would rise from 3,336 last fall to 3,358 this fall, and then gradually increase until it reaches 4,016 in the fall of 2022.
The newly released data show that HSU's combined enrollment of 3,490 so far this year already exceeds the projection.
"Our current enrollment aligns with the ... projections, which indicate a slight increase in undergraduate and graduate enrollment," Hall said.
Brandie Benton, associate professor for enrollment services and admissions, credited relationships the university has been building with prospective students and their families for the increases.
"We also have created more opportunities for our students to tell the story of Henderson State University through videos, texting, and campus experiences," Benton said in an emailed statement.
Henderson President Glen Jones said earlier this year that HSU's declining enrollment reflected southern Arkansas' shrinking population and the school's higher admission standards.
"So, we're having to look out of state for students ... internationally for students," especially from China, he said at the time.
As of this week, though, international student enrollment at Henderson is down from last year. Hall said 37 such students have registered for undergraduate school at HSU as of Tuesday, compared with 50 international students who enrolled last fall.
Though none of those students this or last fall came from China, a plan to attract Chinese students hasn't reached fruition yet.
Hall said previously that Henderson has worked since October "to pilot a dual degree program through which Chinese students will study at their home campus for two years, then complete a bachelor's degree at Henderson."
In June, three officials -- Jones; Brett Powell, vice president for finance and administration; and Xu Xu, a newly hired associate professor -- visited China. There, they signed a partnership agreement and worked on degree plans with Guizhou University. They also visited a current partner, Hebei Vocational Art College, which is both a high school and a college.
Nine "students from Hebei Art were recently on our campus as part of a two-week music festival with Henderson State University students," Hall said this week. "The signing of the partnership agreement and work on degree plans are important steps toward future enrollment."
Hall said the university did not project enrollment this fall from its partner schools in China. "An objective of the recent trip was to work on the degree plans that students will follow in future semesters," she said.
Henderson hired Xu as an associate professor of economics and data analytics with additional responsibilities for international programs in China. His $100,000 annual salary is funded by the School of Business and "is divided in the operating budget between the two departments for accounting purposes," Hall said.
Drew Smith, formerly director of international student programs, was among those laid off last spring due to what the president's office described as budget cuts. Smith made $47,708 annually but later accepted a job as assistant professor of English, foreign language and philosophy at a $45,000 salary.
State Desk on 08/16/2018