MVNU enrollment is up — again
Incoming class sizes are growing, pushing MVNU enrollment up for the fourth consecutive year.
James Smith, associate vice president of Enrollment Management, is excited to see the numbers increasing.
“Last year was our 10th largest [freshmen class] ever, and this year is even bigger,” he said.
The 2016 freshmen class is about 365 students strong, putting total enrollment for the University at around 1,325 for the first time since 2011.
This trend is especially positive considering that college enrollment nationwide has dropped since 2010.
Smith credits MVNU’s growth to the development and marketing of new programs that prospective students are interested in.
“We look for needs in our community, and we add programming to meet those needs,” he said.
Smith is also pleased with the collaboration between Admissions and Marketing to promote new majors.
“Our systems are solid,” he said. “We have partnered [together] to get the word out.”
Two of the new additions to MVNU’s list of majors are Engineering and Communication Sciences and Disorders, both of which are attracting students to the University. The job outlook for graduates in both majors is expected to be good.
The Communication Sciences and Disorders major, which after advanced coursework typically leads to a career in audiology or speech/language pathology, has tripled enrollment in its second year. MVNU is the only Christian university in the state of Ohio to offer this degree program.
Not only is the University staying innovative with new majors, it is also committed to helping students minimize the cost of tuition, Smith said. MVNU costs for a traditional student living on campus this year are $34,500.
However, according to President Dr. Henry Spaulding, MVNU students pay, on average, 50 percent of their tuition costs. The rest is covered by academic awards from the university as well as scholarships, grants and federal funding.
“We have gone to great lengths to make MVNU affordable,” Smith said. “We give robust financial aid.”