Syracuse University must stop the trend of increased student enrollment with each academic year.

According to a 2013 SU financial report, total enrollment had increased from approximately 18,600 students in fiscal year 2003 to approximately 21,000 students in fiscal year 2013. SU enrollment has steadily increased by 13 percent since the 2003 fiscal year, growth that the university planned for in those 10 years.

The higher enrollment is due to fewer students dropping off and choosing to attend another school after applying and being admitted to SU.

According to a Student Enrollment by Gender and Level Fall 2015 Census by SU, a head count of all students enrolled at SU for the 2015-16 academic year is 21,789. The total enrollment for fall of the 2014-15 academic year was 21,492, according to an SU facts sheet.

The increase of students enrolled at the university each year should not come at the expense of the quality of student life at SU. Due to spatial restrictions and the distribution of academic resources, the university and its respective colleges must consider the drawbacks of an increasingly large student body and work to decrease enrollment numbers.

The university has dealt with on-campus housing shortages due to an influx of students in recent years, locking students, some who still needed to fulfill their two-year campus housing requirement, out of on-campus housing and driving the university to house students in hotels and convert lounges into dorm rooms.

The overcrowding of housing, classes and on-campus dining halls are effects that coincide with the growth of the student population and will continue to worsen if there is continued expanded enrollment.

These pressures also extend to the allocation of academic resources, which are at the expense of increased student enrollment. Additional students require the funds to compensate more professors and teaching assistants. Therefore, the more students that are admitted, the more the university has to stretch its budget to accommodate them, rather than focusing efforts on maintaining the quality of education it provides to current students.

If the university is going to continue to accept more students with each passing year, it must have a plan in place to avoid sacrificing the quality of the student experience. As application season continues for prospective SU students, the university must consider the implications of accepting more students and adjust admission numbers accordingly.

Published on October 14, 2015 at 12:14 am

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