Northwestern State University has a spring enrollment of 9,931, the largest for a spring semester in the university’s 134-year history. The previous record was 9,881 in 2004 prior to the implementation of selective admissions.
The registration count increased by 740 students or 8 percent over last spring. The strong growth in students follows a 6.1 percent rise last spring.
“The record spring enrollment is a reflection of the positive momentum taking place at the university,” said Northwestern State President Dr. Chris Maggio. “More students are choosing to enroll at Northwestern because of the university’s positive image. They choose to remain here and graduate because of the outstanding academics, vibrant student life and the knowledge that they are being prepared for today’s workforce.”
In recent months, nine online academic programs at Northwestern State have been ranked in the top 10 in the nation by higher education ranking groups.
The Online Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems was ranked first by bestcollegereviews.org. The website affordablecolleges.com ranked NSU’s bachelor’s program in accounting third, the bachelor’s in criminal justice and bachelor’s in liberal arts fourth, the bachelor’s in general studies seventh, the master’s in secondary education eighth and the bachelor’s in business administration 10th. Northwestern State’s bachelor’s in psychology is ranked as the seventh best counseling program by bestcolleges.com. NSU’s master’s in English was ranked sixth by onlineu.org.
The university added a Post Master’s Certificate in Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and two Post Bachelor’s Certificates in Radiologic Science. NSU began a competency-based program allowing students seeking a computer information systems degree or certification to complete the program at a fraction of the time and cost. The university is seeking approval for additional academic programs that would attract more students.
A number of campus improvements have taken place including resurfacing of Sam Sibley Drive and additional parking at Watson Library. The New Academic Success Center, which was enhanced with a gift from Sen. Gerald Long and the late Rose Long, has been moved to Watson Library and work has begun on the new Academic Tutoring Center in an adjacent area under construction located on the first floor. The University Testing Center has been located in the southwest corner of Watson Library. Campus housing has been enhanced with the renovation of Varnado Hall, which was transformed into a 21st century living/learning residential college for students in the School of Creative and Performing Arts.
Enrollment on the Natchitoches campus increased from 3,385 to 3,548. The total number of students on the Alexandria campus went from 192 to 249. This semester, 652 students took classes on the Shreveport campus compared to 614 last spring. The number of students at other sites, which includes electronic classes improved from 4,777 to 4,925. Enrollment on the Leesville campus decreased from 223 to 197.