MU spring enrollment is ‘as expected’

University of Missouri officials said preliminary enrollment numbers released Tuesday are on track with expectations.

Enrollment for the first day of spring semester classes is 27,562. MU spokesman Christian Basi said the number was “very solid” and where officials had expected it to be. MU recorded an enrollment of 29,866 after the first four weeks of fall 2018 classes.

Transfers for the semester are up from 377 in 2018 to 409 in 2019. Diversity at the university has also increased from 4,476 minority students in 2018 to 4,674 in 2019, Basi said.

The incoming spring freshman class also increased by 31 students.

Basi said total enrollment this spring semester is close to the total enrollment last spring. He said the number of students is starting balance out after a dip in enrollment following protests, executive turnover and other turmoil in fall 2015.

“We’re on the very last large class that we’ve had, this year. And so we’re expectig to graduate for example another large class in May. And so all of those numbers are starting to slowly kind of level,” Basi said.

He said the university is looking forward to enrollment starting to level out and possibly increase in coming years.

Mu professor Sandy Davidson said increasing enrollment provides optimism and more resources for students. She said an increase in minority enrollment is also a good sign for the university’s standing.

“The fact that minority enrollment is going up is certainly a good sign. We did have a dip, but we are on the recovery, we are on the mend,” she said.

The university also predicted the freshman class for the fall semester would be more than 5,000 students because applications have increased by more than 5.5 percent.