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The Daily Illini Online
published Friday, September 14, 2001
Mississippi State University
The Reflector
(U-WIRE) MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. — With enrollment at Mississippi's two largest universities topping the charts, university leaders are saying "enough."
Mississippi State University and the University of Mississippi have informed State College Board members of their plans to cap student enrollment and increase student retention.
MSU is seeing its sixth consecutive record enrollment year due to the growing number of Bulldog fans and larger than ever numbers of transfer students.
Concern over the crowded schools does not end with administrators. Students are feeling the aches of too many students.
"The classes are too big," sophomore Emily Howell said. "It's really important for the classes to be smaller, especially those in your major. Providing top academics should be their priority."
Both universities informed the College Board of their plans to study admissions and retention issues along with addressing present challenges of budget shortfalls and crowded classrooms, according to The Associated Press.
"It's about time," senior Nancy Tutor said. "It is better to up the deadlines for admission and raise the standards than it is to let the numbers multiply with only enough facilities to do a mediocre job."
"We have been more realistic and direct in our presentation to students by telling them if their academic achievement is not particularly distinguished, ACT below 21 or high school GPA below 2.5, they are more likely to be successful academically at another type of institution of higher education," David Cole, vice president and provost, said.
"Instead of trying to think of ways to make this school smaller, they need to expand parking and faculty to fit the needs of MSU — not the reverse," junior Geoffrey Martino said.
"The major benefit (of academic caps) would seem to be that Mississippi State would be able to offer classes that are less crowded as well as being able to meet more of the needs of the students for particular classes, especially those service courses at the lower levels," Cole said. "Along with this, a stable and more predictable sized freshman class would permit better planning and more courses taught by our regular, full-time faculty."
One barrier both universities face in shortening the numbers of incoming students is raising admission standards. When U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. handed down his ruling on the Ayers desegregation case in 1995, he established a uniform admission standards for all public universities in the state that was based on entrance exam scores and high school grades, which cannot be changed, unless all of the public universities raise their general admission standards to match.
"While university admission standards are set by the college board, other academic standards are set by each university and can be adjusted apart from admissions criteria," Cole said. "Several of our colleges, in fact, are setting their own admission standards that are higher than those for general admission to the university."
Deadlines for admission to State are being moved earlier for freshmen to May 1, 2002, for the 2002 fall semester. Transfer students will be given until Aug. 1, 2002.
— Anne Marie Beede
© 2001 Illini Media Company, all rights reserved.