Gannon University has reported that its enrollment has exceeded 4,000 students, making it the highest it’s been since 1992.
The university’s enrollment is currently at 4,416 students, which includes undergraduate, graduate and international students and also puts the university at a 23-year high.
William R. Edmondson, vice president for enrollment, said that the number is a little lower than expected but very good overall.
He also said that the ironic thing about the projections was that they under-projected lower-revenue students and over-projected higher-revenue students, which caused their budget to actually work out to a small surplus.
The total enrollment for this year also includes students at Gannon’s Ruskin, Fla. campus.
Edmondson said university officials projected the enrollment for the Ruskin campus to be about 30 students and they ended up with 24, which they were happy with.
Edmondson attributes the successful enrollment to a number of things, including aggressive recruitment, new majors and investments in new facilities and sporting programs.
“We try to put together a nice package of what students would want so they can have it all,” Edmondson said.
Edmondson also said that Gannon tries to make sure that it has got a very aggressive scholarship plan along with a very generous need-based aid plan to help make Gannon more attractive to students.
Julianne Kiefer, a sophomore nursing major, said she chose Gannon because of its competitive scholarship plan and its nursing program.
“They gave me the most scholarship money out of the local schools,” Kiefer said.
“They also have a really good nursing program,” she said. “They help you out a lot and make sure you have the resources that you need to do well.”
Dana Engel, a sophomore nursing major, also said that she chose Gannon because of its scholarship plan and nursing program.
“Gannon gave me more scholarship money than other schools, like Penn State,” Engel said. “They also kept us all together for most classes. We’re all friends in the program.”
Another thing that Edmondson said is that Gannon has invested a lot into international recruitment, which has resulted in what he suggests as the biggest international intake Gannon has ever had.
Gannon now has a total of 305 new international students from 31 countries which brings the international enrollment total to 733 students from 38 countries.
“Gannon’s a pretty great place to be and a lot of students want to be here,” Edmondson said. “I think it’s also because of a lot of hard work. We’ve got a whole bunch of people doing a lot of little things that add up to make a big thing.”
Gannon hasn’t completed the enrollment projections for next year yet, but Edmondson said the outlook is good.
“We’re in a good place, as far as enrollment goes,” Edmondson said. “It’s not one thing, it’s a whole bunch of people doing a lot of hard work and working together.
“That’s really what it comes down to, [that] and terrific students.”
SAMANTHA GRISWOLD
