Mississippi College Fall Enrollment Tops 5,000

Mississippi College reached a significant milestone in its history Tuesday with fall enrollment numbers exceeding 5,000 students for the first time.

As MC begins its 185^th academic year, reports show there are a total of 5,008 students attending classes at the Baptist-affiliated university. MC operations include the main campus in Clinton, the School of Law in downtown Jackson and the new Flowood Center in Rankin County.

“Mississippi College is delighted to see its enrollment top the 5,000 mark for the first time in the university’s history,” said President Lee Royce. “We believe our solid academic programs combined with our Christian environment and growing scholarships are strong selling points to MC students,” he said.

“Our enrollment levels have shown steady increases since 2002 when we had a little more than 3,200 students on our main campus in Clinton and at the School of Law in Jackson,” Royce said. He took over as the school’s leader eight years ago after serving as president of Anderson University in South Carolina. “We also see the August opening of our Flowood Center as a way to expand our outreach to working adults and lead to more enrollment growth in future years.”

Enrollment rose by 121 MC students from the 4,887 enrollment total last fall. Numbers last fall were up by 40 students from the Fall of 2008. Reports released Tuesday show there are now 3,148 MC undergraduates, 1,310 graduate students and 550 at the law school. A total of 378 students are signed up for Accelerated Degree Program classes two evenings per week on the Clinton campus and at the new Flowood Center.

“Our growth is the result of the hard work of everyone at MC who are focused on the mission of academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ,” said Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “Outside agencies have ranked MC very high in quality and value,” he added.

“The greatest compliment has been the students who have voted with their feet and enrolled,” Turcotte said. “During these tough economic times, we are pleased to remain the destination for top students throughout the South.”

One of the newcomers helping with enrollment gains, freshman Susan Green, 18, of Florence said she decided to attend MC during her junior year at Florence High “when God turned my heart here. I like the Christian environment. This is a good school, academically.”

Green has her sights set on a nursing career.

School of Business Dean Marcelo Eduardo said he’s excited to see the 1,800-student uptick in the university’s enrollment over the past eight years. The School of Business represents a big part of the increase.

“Our MBA program continues to attract the largest number of students in the metro Jackson area,” Eduardo said. “Our new location in Flowood provides our adult night program students another alternative to complete their education in a business and management program that has the highest reputation for quality.”

Located next-door to the Flowood Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center, MC’s two-story Flowood facility held its grand opening August 16.

The new enrollment numbers are out just days after MC was rated highly in a new “U.S. News & World Report” survey of the nation’s colleges.

MC was ranked No. 9 among Southern regional universities in the “Best Colleges, Best Values” category. The report said 47.7 percent of MC students receive need-based grants and noted 39 percent was the average discount from the university’s total costs. Tuition and fees are listed at $13,550 for full-time MC undergraduates in 2010-2011. Fall classes began August 25.