Record Enrollment for GC – August 29, 2006

Students, parents and vehicles were everywhere on the Greenville College campus Friday morning as new students reported.

The scene was more hectic than usual as this year's fall semester freshman class will be the largest ever. Cars, vans and trucks were lined up on College Avenue and in alleys and drives near dormitories as the new students prepared to settle into their new "homes" at the college.

Pepper Dill, Greenville College vice president of enrollment management, confirmed that over 400 new students will be on campus for the new semester. During the first hour Friday, approximately 145 of the new students checked in.

He added that as of Friday there were 1,024 persons who had scheduled classes for the fall, pushing enrollment at G.C. over 1,000 for the first time in the school's history.

"That's exciting," Dill commented. He added that student retention is also up. That combination of the large freshman class and more students than usual coming back led to some problems trying to find a place for everyone to live. He said more students will be living off campus.

The increase in enrollment has led to the Greenville College board taking action to add more living space on campus. A house located immediately north of the parking lot west of Snyder Hall and the Armington Center has been torn down.

That space will be used for parking, and college officials have decided to use the south portion of the parking lot, near the intersection of Oak and Prairie streets, to construct a new dormitory. The new dorm will not be ready until next school year.

Greenville College President James Mannoia indicated that another dormitory might also be needed after one is opened in 2007.

Friday, tents were set up on Scott Field, in the center of the Greenville College campus, as college personnel greeted new students and their parents. Stations were set up in the tents for students to check in and begin the registration process.

Official registration for the new students was Saturday and returning students registered on Monday. A "welcome party" for all students is planned today (Tuesday) on campus.

Dill reported that approximately 65 percent of the students come from within a 100 mile radius of the college, and 70 to 75 percent of the students are from Illinois. "We're trying to focus our energies in serving Southern Illinois the best we can," he commented.

The college has also made a concerted effort to contact community colleges to seek transfer students. President Mannoia reported that the number of transfer students at the college has doubled. That has led to the addition of a staff member to recruit transfers.

Dill stated, "We're trying to increase our contacts with community colleges."

Southern and Central Illinois have many community colleges including the local Kaskaskia district, Lake Land at Mattoon, Southeastern Illinois at Belleville, Lewis & Clark at Godfrey, Frontier in Fairfield, John A. Logan in Carterville, Lincoln Land in Springfield, Lincoln Trail in Robinson, Olney Central in Olney, Parkland in Champaign, Rend Lake at Ina, Richland at Decatur, Southeastern Illinois at Harrisburg, and Wabash Valley at Mt. Carmel.

Classes for the 2006-07 school term begin Wednesday. The convocation chapel will be held at 9:30 a.m. in H.J. Long Gymnasium.

Also on the G.C. calendar is the all-college hike, which is scheduled for September 12.

Courtesy of the Greenville Advocate