Ball State University's total fall enrollment increased to 20,243, up by 394, after decreasing for the past three school years.
Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, said Ball State was turning a corner and would continue to grow in coming years because the smaller classes of past years were graduating and being replaced by larger freshman classes.
"I feel very good about [increased enrollment]," he said. "We're finally being able to shake off the effects of small freshman classes."
Taylor said the administration was prepared for the jump in enrollment. It has been monitoring the enrollment rate more closely since this year's enrollment numbers surpassed last year's, he said.
Sophomore architecture major Molly Baker said enrollment growth is good for Ball State, but the university could have planned better for the increase in order to prevent the overcrowding in the residence halls.
Chris Munchel, director of admissions and orientation, said in order to adhere to its Strategic Plan 2007-12, Ball State has increased its admission standards during the past few years in order to attract better quality students and have them graduate.
He said the Office of Admissions took a holistic approach that considered standardized test scores, GPAs, extracurricular activities and the level of courses taken when accepting applicants.
Ball State received 13,773 applications for the 2008-09 school year and 13,198 the year before, Munchel said. The university's marketing and communication efforts included TV and radio commercials, billboards, high school visits and college fairs.
Senior art education major Seth Bihn said Ball State helped students set up visits to campus at his high school. Baker said Ball State did well to advertise its architecture program, and it was the reason she came here.
Munchel said since the standards have been raised, Ball State has received more applications from higher quality students.
"By receiving better quality applications, it allows us to admit better quality students," he said.
Bihn said raising admission standards would help graduates when they entered the job market because it showed the quality of the school they attended. It also increased the number of rejections, he said.
"I didn't have any doubts about getting in," Bihn said, "... I always thought it was a good school that you could get into."
Admitting high quality students would help to diversify the student body and increase retention rates, Munchel said.
One of the goals of the plan is to attract more out-of-state students, he said. Conducting high school visits and college fairs in different states would also increase the diversity on campus. The plan also outlines specific goals to have 80 percent of each freshman class to receive academic honors diplomas from high school and admit 10 percent of each freshman class to the Honors College.
"We're really focusing on the quality of students we're trying to recruit and attract to campus," Munchel said.
Taylor said it would be a challenge to accommodate increasing enrollment in the next few years, but he was confident in Ball State's ability to handle it.
"I think in many ways it's a reflection of the rolling reputation of this institution," he said. "It's a great school. It's been a great school."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
