Why did Oakwood University’s Fall 2011 Enrollment Spike?

Last Wednesday’s Huntsville Times article, http://blog.al.com/breaking/2011/10/oakwoo... highlighted Oakwood University’s enrollment increase and historic 2000th-student milestone, in comparison to local colleges and universities.

Q: why did enrollment at Oakwood, a private and more expensive university, increase while less costly schools either remain pat or decline in student population?

A: Ask the experts, namely:
• Ms. Joyce Smith, Director, Enrollment Management
• Dr. Rachel Williams-Smith, Director, Oakwood University LEAP*

Today and tomorrow, Oakwood is hosting its annual College Days, and more than 700 graduating seniors from across the US, Bermuda, Canada and the Caribbean Islands are visiting the campus.


For the more complete snap-shot, check out http://www.oakwood.edu/zPublic/institution... some of the quick stats will show:


- Increase of 84 students, or 4% increase, from 1,922 to 2,006 students; or, more specifically

- A 25% increase in graduate students in the MAPS (Masters of Arts in Pastoral Studies, begun in 2007), from 24 to 30;

- 10% increase in transfers, from 81 to 89;

*- A whopping 118% enrollment increase for Oakwood University's LEAP adult degree completion
program, from 62 to 135!

- 16% increase in employees taking classes, from 12 to 14 - primarily in LEAP; and

- 1,137 females (57%, a 4% increase) and 869 males (43%, a 6% increase)

Interested? Feel free to call me, if you need any additional/anecdotal information.

Sincerely,

Tim Allston, APR
Servant Leader/Director, Public Relations
Oakwood University