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University Announces Largest Spring Enrollment Ever at More Than 14,000

Ferris State UniversityFerris State University announced today (Jan. 17) that its Spring 2014 semester enrollment is 14,003 students, a 1.4-percent increase of 190 from Spring 2013. That is the largest spring semester enrollment total in Ferris history. That 14,003 total includes 9,485 students on the Big Rapids campus, an increase of 60 students from the previous spring total of 9,425.

Among Ferris’ academic colleges, Business increased by 76 students to 2,647 students while Engineering Technology was up 59 students to 1,965 this spring. Kendall College of Art and Design was up 29 students, Pharmacy increased by 17 and the Michigan College of Optometry grew by five students from the previous spring. The colleges of Education and Human Services, Health Professions, and Arts, Sciences and Education experienced enrollment drops of 117, 110 and nine, respectively from Spring 2013.

“Our enrollment numbers for Spring 2014 are evidence that our students see value in the quality academic programs and supportive environment Ferris provides,” said Kristen Salomonson, dean of Enrollment Services. “Ferris has an engaging learning environment both in and out of the classroom where our students are meaningfully involved from their first day until they graduate.”

David Rosen, president of KCAD, was pleased with his college's enrollment numbers.

“The good enrollment news comes from two trends that we are very happy about. The KCAD community has worked proactively to help students overcome obstacles that might keep them from continuing,” Rosen said. “Our students are highly motivated, and we want to give them every opportunity to complete what they begin and to be successful once they complete.

“We are also seeing robust growth in dual enrollment around the state,” he added. “We like this because we know that those students have a chance to begin college early, and if they come to us after high school, we know that that they will be among our strongest students.”

The number of student credit hours is up to 157,302 for a 1-percent increase of 219 from the previous spring semester total of 157,083. Among academic colleges, Business increased by 756 student credit hours, Pharmacy by 420, KCAD by 215, MCO by 77 and Health Professions by 58. The number of student credit hours for online courses is up by 281 from the previous spring term.

Reflected in this spring’s enrollment numbers is Ferris’ progress toward strengthening student population diversity. The university’s white student population rose by 86 students while the number of students identified as being of “two or more races” increased by 81. Ferris’ international and Hispanic student population grew by 76 and 74 students, respectively, from a year ago. The number of African American students is up by 51 while the number of Native American students increased by four.

“We continue to attract an increasingly diverse student population at Ferris,” Salomonson said. “This spring class is the most diverse in our history.”

The number of first-time-in-any-college students grew by 107 from the Spring 2013 semester. This spring, Ferris recorded a total of 535 FTIACs. Incoming transfer student totals increased by 40, to 725, from the previous spring. The university improved its retention from Spring 2013 to Spring 2014 as the number of continuing students stands at 12,417 – up 54 from the previous spring’s continuing students total of 12,363.

Enrollment for the Fall 2013 semester was 14,707. At its fall commencement, Ferris awarded degrees to more than 1,000 students, including nearly 600 participants in ceremonies held in Big Rapids.

Ferris State University is a four-year public university with campuses in Big Rapids, Grand Rapids and satellite campuses across the state of Michigan. Ferris offers more than 180 educational programs, including doctorates, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees, through eight academic colleges: Arts, Sciences and Education, Business, Education and Human Services, Engineering Technology, Health Professions, Kendall College of Art and Design, Michigan College of Optometry and  Pharmacy.