NSU summer enrollment highest in 18 years

While many people are hitting the lakes and rivers this summer, students at Northeastern State University are taking advantage of the summer months to further their education. Enrollment for summer 2010 is at the highest level in 18 years at Northeastern.

Enrollment at each of the university campuses is up, with an increase of 14.7 percent at Tahlequah, 8.3 percent at Broken Arrow and 27.1 percent at Muskogee.

"More students are enrolling for a variety of reasons: an opportunity to speed up the pace at which they complete their degree, additional offerings in the summer school class schedule and the additional money that is provided through federal Pell grants," said Mark Kinders, vice president for University Relations.

Kinders and other NSU administrators anticipated the greater number of summer school students. Their expectations were supported by pre-enrollment figures released in late May.

Pre-enrollments on the three campuses were 2,625 students enrolled in 14,297 credit hours at Tahlequah, 958 enrolled in 6,817 hours at Broken Arrow and 138 enrolled in 763 hours at Muskogee.

Dr. Julia Sawyer, coordinator for Institutional Research for NSU's Department of Assessment and Institutional Research, and Dr. Teri Cochran, director of Student Financial Services, analyzed available data on Pell eligibility rules and attendance during the Summer 2009 session. They believe about 250 students utilized the added Pell subsidy by taking summer classes.

"We believe the number is quite a bit higher among Pell students," Kinders. "But there is no way for Doctors Sawyer and Cochran to confidently say how many would have attended regardless of the incentive. They are assuming about 30 percent who qualify for Pell would have enrolled anyway."

Kinders is confident the additional funding resulted in additional summer students for NSU.

"We know it's a factor," he said. "But we do not have a way to survey students to conclusively prove this. We know the enrollment trend is up significantly from previous summers when the assistance did not exist."

The additional summer Pell funding was a result of federal legislation passed by Congress through the stimulus package as well as through the Higher Education Reauthorization Act. The Obama Administration and Congress each have pursued policies intended to increase the number of college graduates in the U.S. to keep the nation competitive in a global economy. The Pell bonus improves the ability of those with marginal incomes to access higher education.

"For students who qualify, the Pell grant allows an extra semester of assistance in the summertime if they were enrolled full-time the previous spring and fall semesters," Kinders said. "This is an unprecedented bonus that does not count against their entitlement for assistance for the next academic year."

Kinders said students nation-wide who are taking advantage of the additional Pell money may number in the tens of thousands.

"It particularly makes financial sense for college students who might be having difficulty finding summertime employment in a challenging economy," Kinders said. "For some the bonus Pell grant could well amount to more than they could earn and save for the next academic year."