By Sarah Shows
Staff Reporter

With the current recession on the minds of soon-to-be high school graduates and their parents, applications to the University of Mississippi have increased 7 percent overall, with a 6 percent increase in freshmen applications compared to this time last year, according to Charlotte Fant, director of admissions and university registrar.

The Institute of Research and Assessment reports Fall 2007-2008 enrollment consisted of a total of 15,129 enrolled students at all Ole Miss campuses. Fall 2008-2009 had 15,289 total.

“With our being a public university, we don’t have a ceiling number,” Fant said. “We try to serve everyone interested.”

Holly Reynolds, the associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said she works with the different departments and the dean throughout the summer to ensure classes are available in certain categories that have heavy loads of students seeking required courses.

“We open up new sections or add more seats to make sure classes are available in general education categories,” Reynolds said.

Though Reynolds said the projected number of incoming students is a vague estimate for next fall semester, she is “consistently looking at the numbers.”

“We have been told to expect the number of applications to be up,” Reynolds said, but for now the university projects it will have enough faculty and instructors to provide for class demands.

Lorinda Krhut, director of student housing, said the Residential College has helped to reduce the stress on resident halls to house incoming freshmen.

Three years ago, the university saw an influx of students and was unable to house everyone who sought on-campus residence, Krhut said.

The housing department had to reserve spaces of off-campus facilities for upperclassmen who had requested private rooms at Campus Walk.

However, Krhut said the housing department is not anticipating any problems holding students next school year.

Though application rates are up, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Larry Sparks said the university is estimating an overall increase of 1 percent based on current assessment.

“Predictions nationally are to expect some increase in the number of applications,” Sparks said.
“With a downturn in the economy and parents and families not making the same income, there is a higher number of applications from students.”

Sparks said he is optimistic about the potential increase.

“With the economy as it is and other revenue sources not what they were in prior years, enrollment increase couldn’t come at a better time,” Sparks said. “As for tuition increase, it is too early to tell.”

Sparks said the process for the university to predict its budget for next year and what it will receive from state funding is like a set of dominos with all of the factors having to fall in succession.

“All we have done is build different ‘what-if’ scenarios, waiting for actual decisions to be made that are out of our control,” Sparks said. “What I can tell you is we are committed to keeping increases to as low as possible. Enrollment increases, federal money and creating better ways of managing our resources all help to offset those increases.”