The number of FSU students is at its highest peak in history.
According to Vice President for Student Affairs Daniel Burcham, many things are affected positively by this increase.
This fall’s enrollment is up by 179 students since fall 2010; making the total number of students enrolled in Ferris’ system 14,560 this semester. The number of students taking classes at the Big Rapids Main Campus increased by 39 students since fall 2010, making the total number of students on main campus 9,970.
“We are certainly not surprised in the freshmen numbers. We were expecting, particularly as we ended the orientation days, that we would have a very large amount of first time college students,” said Burcham.
With the number of students increasing, there is thought that the use of services around campus will increase as well. Burcham believes there is going to be more students looking to use the facilities offered around campus, such as the tutoring and writing centers.
“People are starting to realize how critical a higher education is to their futures. Obviously when you are paying for an education, you want to get everything out of it that you can — so why not use the on campus services?” said Amelia Johnson, a junior in recreation and leadership management. “I think with the increase of student enrollment, every type of office or service is going to be at least a little busier than before. And in my opinion, this is a great thing.”
Aby Harrold, a junior in resort management, agreed with this statement. According to Harrold, the use of these services and the increase of students on campus is giving the university the opportunity to change some opinions.
“I think this is a good time for Ferris to revamp how people look at us. We have all these new freshmen and transfer students to work with and Ferris spirit has been down the last few years,” Harrold said. “I think having more people is going to help because students will be able to get out there and have more encouragement to use the resources on campus, as well as show some school pride. I think because of this, we will stop being considered a suitcase college like so many people considers us to be.”
With the largest increase in enrollment, there are more and more students becoming attracted to Ferris for multiple reasons. According to Burcham, these attractions are things in and out of the classroom.
“This is an exciting time to be at the university. I think we have this response [of such high enrollment] by the young people of Michigan because we have a very vibrant student life and we have excellent academics,” Burcham said. “You’ll see that the average Ferris student is not only learning things in the classroom, but they are doing important things on the outside of the classroom that will teach them practical skills they will need to be successful in the workforce.”