Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Enrollment at William Carey University in Hattiesburg has increased steadily over the past five years.
During the fall 2010 trimester, the university had just more than 3,600 students enrolled at its Hattiesburg and Tradition campuses. Fast-forward five years to the fall 2014 trimester, and Carey now has 4,145 students. The 2014 enrollment is about a 1½ percent increase over fall 2013 trimester when the university had 4,076 students.
For fall 2014, the school has 2,450 undergraduate students; 1,695 graduate students, including the 507 medical students in the College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Barbara Hamilton, executive assistant to President Tommy King, tells The Hattiesburg American (http://hatne.ws/1vk6PKI ) administrators attribute the steady growth to recruitment.
"While we continue an aggressive traditional recruitment program, our greatest growth comes from new programs," Hamilton said. "Another factor is our generous scholarship program."
To attract students, William Carey administrators say the university specializes in finding niches and offering programs to meet those needs.
"William Carey University does not seek to compete with other institutions but rather to provide a learning environment, which attracts students who are a good fit for us," King said. "We also look for niches where needs are not being met and develop programs to meet those needs."
With its Osteopathic School of Medicine, criminal justice program at the Tradition campus and recent announcements of a doctor of physical therapy program at the Hattiesburg campus in 2016 and possibly a pharmacy school on the Biloxi campus, administrators say the focus is on adding degree programs that lead directly to employment.
"Fields such as nursing, education and pre-professional are our greatest areas of growth," Hamilton said. "At our Tradition campus in Biloxi, criminal justice is our strongest growth program."
___
Information from: The Hattiesburg American, http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
