Enrollment deposits came at a record rate for the class of 2012, eventually causing the class to be the largest in AU's history, according to Sharon Alston, interim associate provost for enrollment.
The university could attribute the enrollment spike to many factors, including new admissions marketing initiatives and the national media attention they received in the spring, Alston said.
"Senator Barack Obama's news-making visit, our first appearance in the NCAA men's basketball tournament and other events - gave us tremendous opportunities for national visibility," she said in an e-mail.
This was AU's most competitive class ever. The average high school GPA was 3.8 and the average SAT score was 1266, the highest ever, according to President Neil Kerwin's June 19 memo to faculty and staff.
Enrollment targets for the class of 2013 have not yet been set, Alston said.
"The Provost has appointed a campus-wide task force on Marketing and Undergraduate Enrollment to discuss enrollment targets for the 2009-10 academic year," she said in an e-mail.
At the first indication that the freshman class would be large, the registrar's office made sure all freshmen would be able to enroll in the required "College Writing" courses, according to University Registrar Linda Bolden-Pitcher.
She said her office worked with the College of Arts and Sciences and the literature department to ensure enough resources were in place to accommodate the freshman writing classes. This meant adding eight new sections of college writing courses, including "Honors English I." There are currently 63 "College Writing" sections and eight "Honors English I" sections. During the last year's fall semester, the registrar's office scheduled 57 "College Writing" sections and six "Honors English I" sections, according to the office's Web site.
Academic advisers worked "tirelessly" to make sure all freshmen were able to enroll in the "College Writing" courses, Bolden-Pitcher said.
Approximately 12 new full-time temporary faculty and approximately six adjunct faculty members were hired as a result of the enrollment numbers, according to an e-mail from Dean of Academic Affairs Haig Mardirosian. No tenure or tenure track faculty were hired as a result of the enrollment numbers, since they are hired before the freshman enrollment numbers are available, he said.
Student Government President Seth Cutter said he felt that hiring new faculty was the right thing to do.
"I am glad that new people were taken on so we have small class sizes," he said.
Bolden-Pitcher said she does not anticipate any problems for spring 2009 registrations because her office is working with various departments to plan ahead.
"We hope to retain the resources we gained access to this fall through the spring term," she said.
Besides University College courses that normally meet in residence hall lounges, no courses needed to meet in non-academic spaces, Bolden-Pitcher said.
The increase in enrollment is a good thing, despite the logistical challenges, Alston said.
"The increase in size of our freshman class is clearly an indication of AU's increasing prominence and growing popularity," she said. "While the size of the first year class presents us all with some challenges in terms of increased demand on university services and support systems, the university is committed to delivering the highest quality experience for all of our students."
It feels more crowded around campus and the university might want to explore its student population size during the strategic planning process, Cutter said.
"You can tell that [large freshman classes] might not be something we want to continue in the future," he said.
You can reach this staff writer at eklapper@theeagleonline.com.
