Mississippi University for Women officials are reporting increased activity on campus with the opening of the semester.
“Registration is up considerably from where it was last year at this point, and the residence halls are at near capacity,” according to Dr. Bucky Wesley, vice president for student services.
Sirena Parker, director of community living, added, “We have had to make special arrangements to house the male students who have made the decision to live on campus. Currently, our male building, Columbus Hall, is at capacity and the male wing in Kincannon is also full. We are housing our overflow male students on the first floor in Kincannon Hall. This has required my department to transform office spaces back in to student living space.”
On the academic side, numbers are up as well, particularly in the Tupelo nursing program where numbers have increased approximately 100 percent over last year”s numbers. Another popular area is the general studies program, which was initiated in the fall of 2008.
“We have over 100 students in the program now. It has been very popular and has allowed many students to complete a B.S. degree who may not have been able to otherwise,” said Dr. Mark Bean, general studies coordinator.
Students have been participating in Welcome Week festivities, including the Late Night Breakfast, which attracted more than 400 students.
Roger Busby, Sodexo Dining Services general manager, said, “The start of the fall semester has seen an increased number of students taking advantage of the dining facilities. We have had to increase our seating to accommodate students along with faculty, staff and guests.”
The university”s new Police Chief Kennedy Meaders also noted more traffic on campus.
“Students need to be mindful that we do have parking issues; therefore, if they want to get good parking spaces, they need to get to campus early. Also, we are giving students at least two weeks to get acclimated to the campus and where they need to park before we start issuing citations.”
MUW President Claudia A. Limbert said, “The activity we are experiencing is reflective of students” interest in a quality education provided in a setting that meets the individual needs of those students. We can attribute that success to a highly personalized learning environment made possible through the dedication of our faculty.”
The last day to register for classes is Aug. 18.
MUW is currently ranked 12th among Southern public master”s universities by U.S. News & World Report”s 2009 guide, “America”s Best Colleges.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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