Record freshman class helps boost enrollment at Alcorn
For the second straight year, enrollment at Alcorn State University’s main campus has surged with the help of a record freshman class. Fall 2017 enrollment is 3,592 students, or a 5 percent increase above last year’s enrollment.
Alcorn State University’s class of 2021, is the largest first-time freshman class in school history at 740 and represents a 38% increase over last year’s class. It is also the school’s sesquicentennial class scheduled to graduate when the university celebrates its 150th anniversary.
President Alfred Rankins Jr. is thrilled by the enrollment increase, and he encourages this year’s freshmen and all students to have a productive college career.
“Because of the number of tools and opportunities made available to our students, high school students everywhere are beginning to recognize the value and quality education available at Alcorn State University,” said Rankins. “It’s good to see so many fresh faces on campus, and we hope that they matriculate at Alcorn within four years.”
Along with the increase in enrollment, the academic profile of the new class made record gains. This year’s freshman class has an average composite ACT of 19.6. Additionally, there was a 56% increase in students with an ACT score of 24 and above and a three-fold increase in students with an ACT of 28. The academic profile of this year’s freshman class represents an all-time high at the university.
“As Mississippi’s only comprehensive HBCU land-grant, Alcorn State University offers a world-class education that contributes to a more successful, prosperous, and enriched state,” Vice President for student affairs Emanuel Barnes said. “We are continuing to attract, retain and engage a rising number of students and are preparing them to make a difference in our state and the world.”
Barnes credits President Rankins’ vision and leadership for the enrollment boost.
“It is refreshing to have a president that is actively engaged in recruiting students. The President’s recruitment tour was a great success for the university”, said Barnes.
The fall semester preliminary enrollments are reported annually to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning after the fourteenth day of classes.
Alcorn State University is a leading Historically Black College and University land-grant institution that celebrates a rich heritage with a diverse student and faculty population.
