Jackson State University’s preliminary enrollment for fall 2017 shows a 12 percent decline after implementing new student financial account management policies and reducing the number of scholarships and waivers offered.
This year’s preliminary enrollment of 8,583 is a reduction of 1,228 students from last fall’s preliminary number of 9,811.
In previous years, students were given a wider grace period for reconciling their accounts and were removed from enrollment rosters after the reporting period. The number of students who completed the fall 2016 semester was 8,529.
“Jackson State University has and is aligning its current policies with best practices,” said Dr. William B. Bynum Jr., president of JSU. “The university is requiring payment earlier in the semester, which allows us to manage our resources more effectively. Also, JSU reduced institutionally funded scholarship offerings in order to stabilize these expenditures.”
The newly implemented financial aid policy reduced scholarship assistance and eliminated some waivers for out-of-state fees.
Bynum said that these next two to three years will be very difficult. He is confident that, with its outstanding reputation, the university will be able to rebound and increase enrollment in the future.