The number of students enrolled in the university’s early childhood education major with a special education minor has more than quadrupled in the past year.
Eleven students had declared the major and minor in fall 2013, compared to 51 students this semester, according to records from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
The combination saw the biggest percentage increase in enrollment of the university’s majors, followed by logistics supply chain management, computer technology, teaching major foreign language: Latin and business marketing education.
John Merbler, chairperson of the department of special education and professor of special education, condones high school guidance counselors for being widely knowledgeable on majors that have the most potential before students get to college, like early childhood.
Having that personal connection with someone who is deaf or has autism also draws students into the field. Once at Ball State, Career Services share reports with students of jobs that are in high demand.
“Within the past few years, autism has really drawn lot of attention to special education in general. I think that is being reflected in the interest that people are showing and majoring in special education,” Merbler said. “We have a lot of programs and all of our programs are nationally recognized by the Counsel of Exceptional Children, and that certainly helps us attract students into our program.”
Business major enrollment in general is also increasing.
Human resource management has seen a 87.8 percent increase in student enrollment. Finance has seen a 37.9 percent increase in student enrollment, with marketing trailing behind with a 26.9 percent increase and accounting with a 19 percent increase from 2013-2014, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.
While these majors did not have the largest percentage growth, they were among the top 10 majors with the greatest increases in the number of students enrolled
Sushil Sharma, associate dean of Miller College of Business and professor of information systems, said the business degrees are perceived as better for employment opportunities, which in turn draws in students to the majors.
Sharma said the business degrees offer more opportunities for jobs. The starting salaries are higher than any other majors, which also sways students to the business program.
Sharma highlights that the basic functions in any organization include an accounting department, finance department, marketing department and human resources department. In turn, these majors do not restrict someone from working in one specific industry. Working at companies such as IBM, Wal-Mart, Eli Lilly, for example, all require a finance manager.
Sharma said the top jobs seem to be accounting, finance and marketing. They provide steady jobs in terms of demand, and the starting salary ranges from $40,000-$65,000, he said.
“Every company uses these disciplines, that's why they are more in demand and they open more number of opportunities across the industries. That's the main part I would like to emphasize,” Sharma said.
June Allen, a sophomore pre-business major, said knowing her major is growing changes her outlook.
“Well honestly I didn’t even know it was growing. I guess knowing that does put a little more pressure on me to do well in all of my business classes, so that I stand out above the rest,” Allen said.
Other majors experienced a decline in enrollment between the fall of 2013 and 2014. The pre-physical therapy major experienced an enrollment decline of 83 students, or 43 percent. Although a business major, entrepreneurship lost 23 students, which was 100 percent of their enrollment.
Joan Todd, the executive director of public relations, said the university markets the wide range of academic programs to show prospective students what Ball State has to offer.
“We want to let prospective students know that we have some very well-known and widely respected programs, but also that they will have a large number of programs from which to choose if they come to Ball State,” Todd said.
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