DSC numbers rise with fall enrollment numbers released

ST. GEORGE – The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) announced Wednesday that the number of students attending Utah’s colleges and universities continues to surge. That fact is certainly true in the case of Dixie State College of Utah as DSC officials also announced another double-digit percentage increase in the institution’s 2010 Fall Semester enrollment numbers.

USHE officially released its third week enrollment figures for the fall semester (www.higheredutah.org for complete release), which showed that DSC posted a 10.67% increase in total headcount with 8,755 students, 844 students ahead of last year’s total of 7,911.

DSC’s full-time equivalency (FTE*) figures for the fall semester also rose 12.53% with 6,267 students, compared to 5,569 students this time last year, which is the second-highest percentage increase in the USHE system. In addition, the College’s Budget Related FTE experienced the highest-percentage increase in USHE at nearly 13% overall with 6,118 students, up 698 students from last year’s total of 5,420.
 
DSC President Dr. Stephen D. Nadauld and other college officials credit Dixie’s continued enrollment growth to a number of factors, including successful recruiting efforts and the addition of two and four-year degrees. Officials also credit Dixie State’s affordability and low tuition costs, talented and dedicated faculty, and the current economic climate, as other key components that have played a role in Dixie’s unprecedented growth.

“We’re grateful to see so many students who want to get an education and we’re thankful for our faculty and staff who have bent over backwards to accommodate the extra students,” President Nadauld said. “We hope to receive some additional resources that reflect our dramatic growth and to allow us to continue to provide an education for the men and women of our state, whose education will be vital for preparation for their future and to our state’s economic development.”
 
Part of Dixie State’s extraordinary enrollment growth is a 5% increase in first-time freshmen with 1,828 students, the largest freshman class in school history, which eclipsed last year’s previous best total of 1,741 students. This year’s freshman class also includes 1,286 new freshmen just out of high school, 55 more student than last year.

In addition, DSC saw a 33% increase in upper division enrollment with 1,970 students, up 488 students from last year, while the institution welcomed 560 new transfer students from other institutions, a 9% rise (512 total transfer students in 2009) from a year ago. Dixie State also saw a 17% percent bump in minority student enrollment from this time last year with a total of 1,017 students.

“Students are seeing Dixie as a destination place to receive a quality education and be involved in intellectual and extracurricular activities,” says DSC Vice President of Student Services Frank B. Lojko. “With three consecutive double-digit fall enrollment increases, Dixie State still provides quality instruction and one-on-one student interaction with faculty and staff, which is a major component of our customer service pledge to our students.”
 
Established in 1911 and built on the site of the first pioneer encampment in St. George, Dixie State College of Utah strives to help students to define, shape and achieve educational and life goals. Dixie State College is dedicated to providing personalized and excellent teaching in a learning environment where all students can become passionate about their individual educational endeavors.
 
Dixie State College offers associate degrees and certificate programs, but has also offered a limited number of high demand baccalaureate programs since 2000. DSC now offers a number of baccalaureate programs in core or foundational areas consistent with four-year colleges.
 
Currently, Dixie State College students can earn baccalaureate degrees in 15 areas of study. Recently, Dixie State added four-year degrees in clinical laboratory science, psychology and theatre. Students can also earn bachelor’s degrees in accounting, aviation management, biology, business administration, with emphases in accounting, finance and visual technology, as well as communication, computer & information technology, dental hygiene, elementary education, English, integrated studies, music and nursing.
 
Dixie State’s new mission will pave the way to more and more bachelor’s degrees in the coming years. (Please visit the college’s website – www.dixie.edu – for the most updated list of programs.)

*One FTE is defined as any combination of 15 units of credit enrolled in by one or more students. For example, if a student is taking 15 credit hours, that equals one FTE. If 15 students take one credit, that equals one FTE as well.

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