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Where did SOU students go? They graduated By JOHN DARLING ASHLAND - The decline in enrollment this fall at Southern Oregon University during a time of record student rolls throughout the Oregon University System is probably due to a sudden, unexpected wave of graduations last June, as well as competition from Rogue Community College. SOU's head count fell to 5,475 this fall from 5,511 a year ago, a decline of seven-tenths of a percent, mainly because 1,200 students graduated in June, compared to the usual 800 to 900, said Provost Sara Hopkins-Powell. The university did not see this coming and was not able to market to and admit enough students to make up for the shortfall, she said. The freshman class this fall increased by 12.7 percent over last fall, but it was still not enough to make up for the exodus of seniors, many of whom may have wrapped up their schooling to evade a tuition hike this fall, she said. "We're still not real clear why so many graduated, but if we'd known so many were going, we would have reduced our overall target," she said. "When we realized it this summer, we stepped up our recruitment of freshman and transfer students, but it was too late for people to change plans. We did meet our freshman enrollment goal, however." The Oregon university system as a whole has grown by 18 percent over the last decade, but SOU's growth has been significantly slower, she said, even though tuitions are the same. The system's three big schools, University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Portland State University, have a competitive edge against SOU, she said, because they have the funds to offer freshman scholarships "at levels where we can't compete." The newly created RCC campus in Medford has had some effect, mainly in the offering of lower division requirements, such as history, English and math basics. RCC offers courses at about a third of SOU's tuition. In response, SOU has dropped some lower-division courses, she said. "The impact of RCC hasn't been as dramatic as some people thought it would be, but our growth might have been more without that factor," Hopkins-Powell said. SOU's target full-time equivalent (FTE) was 4,281 against actual FTE of 4,268 at the fourth week of classes. One FTE equals a student taking a full load of classes, and generally is used as a more accurate measure of enrollment than a simple head count. SOU's draws 70.6 percent of its student body from the 17-25 age group, which has grown 23 percent in Oregon over the last decade. "Our growth is driven by this demographic and we're also seeing a reverse brain drain, where more Oregon high school grads are choosing to go to college in Oregon." The state university system reports a rise in student numbers from workers laid off in the economic downturn, but Hopkins-Powell said that's mainly happening in the Willamette Valley and hasn't reached here yet. She also reported SOU has experienced a 3 percent drop in students over age 26, compared to last fall. John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.