Southeast enrollment down slightly at the four-week mark

Southeast Missouri State University�s enrollment numbers at the four-week mark are down slightly overall compared to this time in 2017, but that isn�t the entire picture, said Debbie Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success at Southeast.

Below said the full-time equivalent student total is down about 1.4 percent overall over the spring 2017 semester, and two ongoing trends are contributing to that figure: a drop in international student enrollment and a rise in online study.

International student enrollment continues to drop, as Southeast saw in fall 2017, Below said, but one bright spot is online student enrollment is up.

�It�s how our students want to study,� Below said of online course offerings, particularly non-traditional students who are folding their studies in between their jobs and families and other obligations.

Below said 896 international students were enrolled at Southeast this time last year, while at the four-week census this week, only 654 are in.

�That�s a significant drop,� she said. �Of course that�s of concern to us.�

But that trend is reflective of what�s happening across the United States, Below said, as more schools build programs to recruit the same pool of international students.

And web-only students were at just more than 1,300 in early 2017, but this week, the total stands at just more than 1,400.

�It continues to be a very popular way to study,� Below said.

Between 2013 and 2030, Below said, recent data suggests Missouri�s high-school student population will drop by as much as 5 percent overall, which is concerning to the university.

Demographic changes are also likely, Below said, with fewer white students projected to enter Southeast, and more Hispanic students.

To that end, Below said, Southeast already is starting to build more support services geared toward Spanish-speaking students and parents, who are vital to the college-choice process.

The main website at www.semo.edu already has several pages translated into Spanish, Below said.

Below said the university also is gearing up to take in more first-generation university attendees, who face different challenges from students whose parents and other relatives can help guide them through the university processes.

Another challenge Southeast is facing is, enrollment at community colleges that have traditionally served as feeder schools for Southeast has been in decline over the last five years, including Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri, and Shawnee Community College in Ullin, Illinois.

Those schools recently have signed agreements with Southeast to make the transfer process easier for students, in the Transfer Mentor Program.

That way, students can get some of their low-level courses completed at a lower tuition rate before transferring to Southeast to complete degree-specific courses, Below said.

Even if there are fewer students, those who are enrolled at community colleges will have an easier time transferring to Southeast, Below said, adding it�s important for the university to monitor what students need and work hard to deliver.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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