Goshen College enrollment figures finalized

GOSHEN, Ind. — Final statistics, released recently by Goshen Collegeås registrarås office, showed a total of 941 students enrolled at Goshen College for the fall 2002-2003 semester.

Previous figures showed 984 students enrolled a year ago. The statistics include both full-time and part-time traditional students and those taking courses with Goshenås Division of Adult and External Studies and the collegeås Sarasota, Fla., extension.

At the May 2002 commencement ceremonies, 249 students graduated — the second-largest class in the last decade. The large exiting class, combined with a smaller group of first-year students, led to the enrollment drop, administrators said, which is part of a cyclical pattern that has been repeated several times in Goshen’s history.

President Shirley H. Showalter said the enrollment decline has positive aspects. “We have long been committed to being a student-centered campus. Now we have the opportunity for more one-on-one interaction with the students we serve,” she said. Showalter also said the college retained 76 percent of its total students from 2001-2002, an increase from 73 percent the previous year and a base for growth.

Goshen College marked an increase in the number of students at its Sarasota campus — up 21 to 41 total students — and the number of part-time students enrolled — up 41 to 146.

Twenty-nine students are enrolled in the college’s Division of Adult and External Studies– night classes which offer adults the opportunity to complete a degree in nursing, organizational management or management information systems. Because adult programs begin and end at various points of the year instead of following traditional academic calendar, enrollment totals from month to month.

Goshen’s student enrollment includes students from 31 states and five Canadian provinces and students representing 27 countries from outside the United States and Canada.

Goshen College is a national liberal arts college known for leadership in international education, service-learning and peace and justice issues in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program and exceptional educational value, GC serves about 1,000 students in both traditional and nontraditional programs. The college earned citations of excellence among U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo! and Barronås Best Buys in Higher Education. For more information, visit www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For information, contact Ryan Miller at (574) 535-7572 or ryanlm@goshen.edu.