Harrisonburg: EMU reports small drop in undergrad enrollment
Story by Jim Bishop
Fall semester 2008 enrollment at Eastern Mennonite University finds a small drop in undergraduate numbers, while graduate programs held steady, and the Adult Degree Completion Program had a significant increase.
EMU has 185 first-year students enrolled the fall semester compared to 203 last fall. Traditional undergraduate enrollment – first-year through seniors – totals 858 students, compared to 900 last fall.
Stephanie C. Shafer, director of undergraduate admissions, said that EMU’s first-year class represents 19 states, with Virginia heading the list with 51 percent of the class. Pennsylvania follows with 22 percent, compared to 26 percent last year, she noted.
“The SAT average score for new students is 1,060 points, holding steady with last year, and the average GPA is 3.4,” said Shaffer, adding that “we have 16 students in our honors program.”
A strong increase came in EMU’s Adult Degree Completion Program, an accelerated, non-traditional baccalaureate degree program, with a total of 190 students at both sites, Harrisonburg and Lancaster, Pa., an increase of 45 students over last year.
Some 55 international students are enrolled this fall in undergraduate, graduate and seminary programs. Approximately 49 percent of full-time undergraduate students are from Mennonite or Mennonite-related groups.
Eastern Mennonite Seminary, a graduate program of theological studies on the EMU campus, has a total enrollment of 121 students this fall compared to 136 last fall.
The Intensive English Program, which prepares international students for undergraduate collegiate work, has 15 full- and 19 part-time students this fall. The students hail from 15 countries.
The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding has a total of 66 students enrolled, up six from last fall.
The M.A. in counseling program has a total enrollment of 37 students and the master of business administration (MBA) program has 43 students. The M.A. in education program has 75 students enrolled in Harrisonburg and 103 enrolled in Lancaster, Pa.
EMU has a total undergraduate, graduate seminary enrollment of 1,553 students compares to 1,597 last fall, according to figures released by David A. Detrow, university registrar.
“EMU offers a wide range of academic programs including traditional undergraduate majors, four masters programs, a theological seminary, and a robust Adult Degree Completion Program,” said EMU President Loren Swartzendruber. “We are pleased with the quality of our students and look forward to educating them to live and serve in a global context.”
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