Another record freshman class at University of Missouri possible

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Early applications for next fall put the University of Missouri on track for a record freshman class for the second year in a row.

While that might seem like good news, some Missouri faculty are concerned that the large class comes at the same time the University of Missouri is trying to streamline and tighten its finances.

Ann Korschgen, vice provost for enrollment management, said the most recent enrollment figures include a 20.1 percent increase in applications compared with this time last year.

If those figures hold, Missouri could break the enrollment record set this academic year, when more than 5,800 freshmen enrolled, a 15.6 percent increase over the previous year.

"It is still very early to make assumptions about the size of our fall class, but the fact that we still have a substantial increase in applications over last year is an early indication that we could have another large freshman class," Korschgen said.

The University of Missouri System instituted a hiring freeze last month. During a Faculty Council meeting Thursday, some faculty expressed concerns that the hiring freeze would prevent the university from hiring more faculty and graduate teaching assistants.

"If we can't hire graduate assistants, that would have a massive effect on students," journalism Professor Clyde Bentley said.

Graduate students get tuition waivers for teaching undergraduate courses and alleviating the need for some full-time instructors.

"If we can't hire" graduate teaching assistants, "we may lose graduate students," said Bentley.

But an enrollment increase means more tuition for the school, which could help pay for the new teachers and graduate assistants needed to teach more students.

And chancellor Brady Deaton has set up an appeals process for "vital" hires that would be exceptions to the hiring freeze. It includes an "expeditious review" for graduate assistants.

He said positions would be approved in blocks if a department doesn't go over its previously allocated number of graduate assistants. An increase in graduate assistants for a department would require a longer review.

Deaton knows he has to hire in key areas because of the surge in students, Faculty Council chairman Tom Phillips said. "He understands that teaching needs need to be met."

Korschgen said the enrollment figures show a 46.6 percent increase in out-of-state applications compared with a 7.1 percent increase in applications from Missouri residents.

That makes it difficult to predict how large the freshman class will be because the final total historically has been smaller for out-of-state applicants, she said.

Mary Jo Banken, a Missouri spokeswoman, said hiring will become clearer once the institution knows how much the state legislature allocates to the University of Missouri System and when MU has more solid enrollment figures.

Korschgen said it is too early to decide whether Missouri will put an enrollment cap on applications, as it did last summer.