Slippery Rock University has reported that it has set a record high enrollment with 8,881 students for this academic year.
Amanda Yale, associate provost for enrollment services, said these figures can be attributed to the university’s commitment to the lives of students after graduation.
“What we are doing here on campus is to prepare the university for the future by creating programs that are marketable out there and that are going to get students jobs or get them towards grad school,” Yale said.
Yale said the top programs at the graduate level are physician’s assistant program, public health and data analytics, and at the undergraduate level exercise science, biology, business and education. Yale said these majors are appealing because they have a clear path to a career following graduation.
Yale said that campus visits and tours are a key factor in the success of enrollment services.
“When prospective students visit campus with their families they see upper division students engaged in the programs,” Yale said. “They see a strong, engaged, vibrant community as part of our daily showcases and that really makes a difference.”
Yale said that the rate of student loan default for SRU graduates is 4.4 percent while the national average is 11 percent. She also said that SRU is one of the few institutions to give scholarships to transfer students, which is another draw.
Yale said that the affordability and the marketable degrees all contributed to this year’s record-breaking enrollment.
