VSU Announces Record Enrollment

VALDOSTA - When Ryan Sterritt, from Marietta, Ga., decided to attend Valdosta State University, he was not alone - 884 students (42.7 percent) from the 2007 fall semester freshmen class are from metropolitan Atlanta.

“Valdosta is only four hours from home, so I am close but far enough that I can be on my own,” Sterritt said. “I wanted to go to a school where I could live on campus and really experience college life.”

Sterritt is one of 2,072 freshmen that make up VSU’s record enrollment of 11,279 students for fall semester 2007. This semester’s student enrollment represents a 27.9 percent increase from fall semester 2000.

“VSU’s strategic goals include action steps to expand undergraduate and graduate enrollment,” President Ronald M. Zaccari said. “This is accomplished through a united effort from our faculty and staff, who have helped build a campus culture that challenges each student to expand their thinking skills and develop a more creative approach to problem solving.”

Students enrolled for fall semester 2007 represent 154 Georgia counties, 45 states, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 65 countries. Lowndes, Gwinnett and Fulton counties boasted the most VSU students - 1,947 students, 535 students and 436 students respectively. A strong supporter of international studies, VSU welcomed 157 international students to campus this fall.

The fall 2007 semester enrollment is the highest in VSU’s history and is a 3.6 percent increase from fall 2006 with 10,888 students. Both undergraduate and graduate enrollment experienced significant enrollment increases, with 9,653 undergraduate students (2.77 percent increase from fall 2006) and 1,552 graduate students (10.94 percent increase from fall 2006) and the remaining students are transient or joint-enrolled.

“American higher education institutions are not only focused on preparing students for an internationally competitive workforce but also providing opportunities that will create positive life changing experiences,” Zaccari said.

While VSU is consistently growing, class sizes remain small with a teacher/student ratio of 1:19. Female students outnumber male students marginally at a ratio of 1.6:1.

VSU also strongly supports its distance learning programs, which allow traditional and non-traditional students, who are limited by both time and location, to continue their education. More than 1,451 students are enrolled in online courses for fall semester 2007, 436 of which are solely enrolled online. At least 25 of these students are involved in the newest Distance Learning program, Doctorate of Public Administration.

While online programs primarily benefit non-traditional students, a growing number of VSU professors are incorporating the university’s online management system, WebCT, into traditional courses.

For more information regarding enrollment, contact the Office of Strategic Research and Analysis at (229) 245-6517 or visit www.valdosta.edu/sra/ .