Southeastern Louisiana University again sees student growth
Friday, September 15, 2017
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University today reported its enrollment of 14,308,
including the largest class of incoming freshman students in 10 years. Incoming freshman
students increased by 4.5 percent from 2,617 to 2,737, accompanied by growth in new
transfer students by 24.5 percent from 428 to 533; and new graduate students by 6.1
percent from 198 to 210. In addition, both new and continuing undergraduate and graduate
student categories increased, as well as the total course hours taken by all students.
“We are pleased to welcome all our new and returning students to campus. As we
continue to impart both the value of a Southeastern degree and the unsurpassed quality
of the caring personal learning environment we provide, we garner more and more interest
from prospective students,” said President John L. Crain. “Our university is singularly
focused on providing a second-to-none educational experience.”
In addition to overall growth in the above categories, Southeastern witnessed
more interest among new high school graduates. Freshman applications rose 13 percent
this year and have increased by 48 percent over the past two years. The numbers of
those attending new student orientation sessions have also continued to grow, averaging
5 percent growth for each of the past two years.
“We also experienced an increase in the number of international students,” said
Dr. Kay Maurin, assistant vice president for enrollment management. “Our campus is
currently home away from home to 247 international students.
In order to address strong demand from new and continuing students, construction
commenced on a student housing project that encompasses several phases and involves
the development of two housing facilities, outdoor communal space for students and
landscaped plaza areas. Once completed in fall 2018, Southeastern will gain two additional
campus entry corridors, as well as parking along Railroad Avenue and Texas Drive.
Ascension and Twelve Oaks halls will be state of the art facilities with 556 new beds,
common study and meeting space and mixed use areas.
Southeastern currently offers over 150 programs of study including many that
are regionally and nationally ranked.
