LSU Shreveport smashed its previous enrollment record as the university has crossed the 10,000 mark for the first time in the school’s history.
LSUS announced a final spring enrollment of 10,214 on Wednesday.
“For the first time in LSUS history, our enrollment has surpassed 10,000 students, thanks to increases in both undergraduate and graduate enrollments,” said LSUS Chancellor Dr. Robert Smith. “This is the result of hard work on behalf of everyone on campus as LSUS continues to focus on the success of our students, recruiting students and working to retain them through graduation.
“This is also the result of LSUS developing programs that are meeting student interests as well as contemporary workforce needs.”
While most university enrollments shrink from fall to spring semesters, the LSUS graduate student programs and its year-round start dates were key drivers in the enrollment increase.
The enrollment increase is nearly 1,500 students higher than Spring 2023, a jump of 17 percent year-over-year.
LSUS posted its second-highest enrollment number in Fall 2023, with its 9,736 students falling just short of the previous LSUS record of 9,955 in the Fall of 2020.
But the Spring 2024 enrollment featured a 478-student increase from Fall 2023.
LSUS’s growth comes at a time when many universities in the state and across the nation are navigating enrollment and financial headwinds.
“Students are looking for the programs we have,” Smith said. “Many universities across the nation are dropping programs that students aren’t taking anymore, but we have a great mix of programs that meet student demand and workforce needs.
“It’s not just programs that students want, it’s programs that also lead to well-paying jobs.”
Graduate enrollment set a record with 7,756 students, representing the highest graduate student enrollment in the state.
The University isn’t just attracting more students through its doors, it’s being recognized for serving those students once they’ve enrolled.
LSUS received the highest marks in the state in the second annual Economic Mobility Index, which measures how effectively institutions assist low-income students to improve their socioeconomic status by graduating into well-paying jobs. LSUS ranked in the top 20 percent nationally in the study conducted by the organization Third Way, which published this past September.
The University was also one of 11 colleges chosen to participate in an inaugural cohort to transform the early college experience, which is when the highest percentage of students drop out.
A student advising hub, an active Student Success Center and a robust food pantry to help combat student hunger are a few ways that LSUS is removing barriers to student success.