Record numbers of students have enrolled in Mississippi Public Universities this year, demonstrating they understand that degrees equate to better jobs. The university system enrollment of 83,016 reflects the largest fall enrollment experienced by the system, surpassing last year’s record fall enrollment of 81,024.
“There is no doubt that earning a degree is a solid investment in the future,” said Dr. Glenn F. Boyce, Commissioner of Higher Education. “Record enrollment clearly shows that our students understand the importance of investing in higher education.”
Mississippi Public Universities
Office of Strategic Research
Student Enrollment, Fall 2015 and Preliminary Fall 2016
|
Unduplicated Headcount |
Fall 2015 |
PreliminaryFall 2016 |
Number Change |
Percent Change |
|
Alcorn State University |
3,518 |
3,730 |
212 |
6.0% |
|
Delta State University |
3,460 |
3,587 |
127 |
3.7% |
|
Jackson State University |
9,802 |
9,811 |
9 |
0.1% |
|
Mississippi State University |
20,873 |
21,622 |
749 |
3.6% |
|
Mississippi University for Women |
2,673 |
2,960 |
287 |
10.7% |
|
Mississippi Valley State University |
2,309 |
2,502 |
193 |
8.4% |
|
University of Mississippi
|
23,838 20,827 3,011 |
24,250 21,260 2,990 |
412 433 -21 |
1.7% 2.1% -0.7% |
|
University of Southern Mississippi |
14,551 |
14,554 |
3 |
0.0% |
|
System Total |
81,024 |
83,016 |
1,992 |
2.5% |
Note: Figures are unduplicated and count students one time regardless of on-campus and off-campus enrollment.
Source: Institutional Research Offices, September 9, 2016.
“These figures reflect fall enrollment, but do not tell the entire story,” said Dr. Boyce. “The fall semester is typically the largest single semester, but there are many more students who attend the universities during the course of a full academic year.”
During the 2016 academic year, total student enrollment was a record 95,449. This figure reflects the cumulative number of students enrolled at each institution for the Summer 2015, Fall 2015, and Spring 2016 terms. Total student enrollment in the 2015 academic year was 93,833.
“What is equally important to record enrollment is that we are also granting degrees in record numbers,” said Dr. Boyce. “These graduates have increased earning power, which will in turn help move Mississippi’s economy forward.”
In 2016, Mississippi Public Universities granted 17,305 baccalaureate and advanced degrees. In 2015, Mississippi Public Universities awarded 16,813 degrees.
A report released this summer by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, America’s Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots 2016, cited research that found, in the recovery from the Great Recession, over 95 percent of jobs created during the recovery have gone to college-educated workers: Those with at least some college education have captured 11.5 million of the 11.6 million jobs created during the recovery. The report also noted that 8.4 million of those jobs have gone to those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, while high school jobs only grew by 80,000.