Campus comes alive with nearly 18,000 students

by Frances Weyand

Next week, nearly 18,000 students begin classes at Kennesaw State, which today is one of the most popular destinations in the University System of Georgia. Overwhelming growth this fall forced administrators to curtail enrollment by turning away applicants in early July, more than two weeks ahead of the scheduled cut-off date. The school’s unprecedented decision to turn away qualified applicants comes on the heels of efforts taken in early March to control anticipated growth by raising admission standards and tightening application deadlines for freshmen.

Even so, fall 2003 reflects a 16 percent surge in enrollment over last year, which means that in two short years, the school has experienced a whopping 35 percent rise in its student population. And, while administrators, faculty and staff scramble to accommodate additional students and control class size by scheduling Friday and weekend classes, introducing additional course sections, hiring 59 new full-time faculty and restoring 60 percent of operating funds that were cut last year, Dr. Lendley Black, vice president for academic affairs, is sure in his knowledge that KSU will continue its tradition of academic excellence as it meets historical demands.

“This is an energizing time at Kennesaw State,” he said. “We have challenges and we have to deal with them, and we have to take them seriously, but just focusing on that would miss the main point. We have so many things going for us that other institutions don’t right now. All institutions across the country are suffering with budget cuts and other things ¾ those things are affecting us too ¾ but, because of our new found image and popularity, because of our excellence, I am confident that we’ve got the faculty in place and the staff in place to deal with this situation in an incredible way. I think people are finally realizing that we are indeed a major university in Georgia.”

In order to meet fall demand, many departments are expanding programs by adding online components, and for the first time ever, scheduling undergraduate courses on weekends.

Dr. Lana Wachniak, chair of the department of sociology, geography, anthropology and criminal justice, said, “We have added an online geography course and some hybrid online classes where students meet once a week in class and once a week online, and we’ve just added 50 virtual seats in the criminal justice department dedicated solely to KSU’s freshman learning communities. In addition, we are utilizing an intensive strategy for content-specific classes by scheduling courses that meet either on Saturdays for eight hours or Sundays for four hours.

While being asked to do more with less resources is always a challenge, Dr. Nancy King, vice president for student success and enrollment services, said, “There is no question that the university is going to have to do more with relatively the same faculty and staff. We have become more of a round-the-clock campus, but the reward is when you see the campus life becoming much more vibrant.”

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