Lipscomb University marks fourth record year of enrollment, biggest jump yet
Janel Shoun |
Official 2009 enrollment numbers confirm a fourth year of record enrollment growth at Lipscomb University, with 3,418 students enrolled as of Tuesday, Sept. 8. The 2009 official enrollment number is 364 more than last fall’s 3,054, the biggest one-year jump in Lipscomb’s four-year enrollment climb.
Fall 2008 was the first year Lipscomb reached the historic milestone of 3,000 students, despite a challenging economic environment.
“Students choose schools for a lot of reasons. We are thrilled that they are choosing Lipscomb University in record numbers because of the quality of our innovative and challenging academic programs, our focus on spiritual formation, and the preparation they will receive for lives of service and professional success,” said Lipscomb President L. Randolph Lowry.
“We believe that the 35 percent increase in enrollment that Lipscomb has experienced in just four years is a natural outgrowth of our very intentional response to underserved needs in the education marketplace and the energy that permeates our campus,” Lowry said. “We have added 16 new graduate programs, including Middle Tennessee’s first College of Pharmacy; seven undergraduate programs, and invested $40 million to create a sustainable, 21st Century learning environment that supports our rigorous academic program.
“We have also been very intentional about engaging with the community that surrounds us, which has attracted programs like Teach for America to our campus and has placed our students into volunteer roles with more than 70 non-profit organizations in the Nashville area. Lipscomb has also taken on the affordability challenge with a three-year graduation plan and new incentives for veterans and community college students.”
The Access Lipscomb program to provide expanded financial aid and academic accessibility for community college students has produced a more than 50 percent jump in applications and admissions of community college transfer students, according to admissions officials.
Military veterans have more than doubled thanks to Lipscomb’s full participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which provides free tuition to eligible veterans.
Graduate enrollment has increased 300 percent since 2006. New graduate programs have produced a jump of 266 graduate students in fall 2009 to a total of 900. That increase includes:
- 92 new education graduate students in existing and new programs
- 75 new students in the second class of the College of Pharmacy
- 41 new students in the Department of Psychology
- 32 new students in existing programs in the College of Business
- 30 students in the new Master of Exercise and Nutrition Science
Adult Degree Program students (nontraditional students completing a bachelor’s degree) have also jumped to 127 from 100.