SDSU Collegian

Issue date: 10/18/05 Section: Front Page News

Media Credit: Charlie Johnson With enrollment numbers up again from last year, classrooms are full and bustling with students. Above, Rotunda D, which seats 398 students, has just a few empty seats as class begins.

SDSU has reached record enrollment for the sixth straight year



At 11,021, SDSU had a 0.6 percent increase in enrollment, with a one percent increase in full-time students, the South Dakota Board of Regents announced Oct. 4 in Pierre.



SDSU President Peggy Miller said she doesn't expect the growth to stop, especially since the university is looking at expanding the nursing and pharmacy programs. Those expansions would encourage more students to attend SDSU, Miller said.



"The growth is likely to continue, and we will have to decide when we don't have the capacity to grow anymore," she said.



Assistant Dean of Student Services Doug Wermedal and Vice President Marysz Rames accredit the growth to the strength of SDSU's academic programs. But along with that are several other factors that give SDSU the full package.



"Success isn't only one factor, we try to focus on food, the residence halls and student activities along with good classes." Wermedal said. Rames said, "It's part of who we are. A lot of folks send their sons and daughters here because they had a good experience."



Enrollment at SDSU has risen 20 percent in the last five years. According to Assistant Registrar Marlys Strassburg, a steady increase is ideal for any university.



"We are recruiting for a fit, not for numbers," Wermedal said.



"We are in a great place for where we are," Rames added. "I think we're in a situation where we have seen great growth, but I don't think we'll see 13,000 plus."



Besides being the largest state university, SDSU is the leader in other statistics. The university has more first-time freshmen, South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship recipients and Dakota Corps Scholarship recipients than any other public university in the state. Also, 45 percent of SDSU's first-time-freshman class has an ACT score of 24 or higher.



This fall's total enrollment for the state's six public universities, Northern State University, Black Hills State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Dakota State University, University of South Dakota and SDSU, has risen by nearly three percent, a record enrollment, said Robert T. Tad Perry, executive director for the Board of Regents. The public universities have a total enrollment of 29,844 students.

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