Enrollment numbers at FAMU back to being larger than Jackson State’s

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Last year, Jackson State University surpassed Florida A&M University in enrollment. It had 9,811 students in Fall 2016, which was 199 more than the 9,612 students who enrolled at FAMU.

But for Fall 2017, FAMU has 9,913 students and JSU has just 8,583, which is a loss of 1,228.

Former JSU President Carolyn Meyers stepped down effective November 1, 2016 after having led the school since 2011. She had clashed with the Mississippi College Board over her spending to add facilities and expand operations in response to increasing student numbers.

According to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, “Over the last five years, JSU’s cash on hand has plummeted from $37 million to $4.2 million as of June 30. Meyers has defended her spending decisions, citing growth and upgrading facilities as the biggest expenditures. The university also had announced a plan to replenish its cash reserve by $10 million in the current fiscal year by controlling expenses.”

New JSU President William B. Bynum Jr. is now making big cuts to student financial aid his reductions in spending.

“Jackson State University has and is aligning its current policies with best practices,” Bynum said. “The university is requiring payment earlier in the semester, which allows us to manage our resources more effectively. Also, JSU reduced institutionally funded scholarship offerings in order to stabilize these expenditures.”

A press release also said that JSU “eliminated some waivers for out-of-state fees.”

The overhaul of the federal financial aid program in 2011 led the enrollment at JSU to go from 8,903 in Fall 2011 down to 8,819 in Fall 2012. But Meyers reversed the decline while enrolling higher achieving students each year.

Meyers got enrollment up to 9,134 in Fall 2013 with freshman average GPAs at 2.93. She continued improving the enrollment results through Fall 2015, when freshman average GPAs reached 3.03.

The Clarion-Ledger reported in Fall 2015 that JSU had the top three-year rate of enrollment growth in the entire state of Mississippi. JSU had a rate of 10.8 percent compared to 10.3 percent at Ole Miss.

The freshman average GPA at JSU slipped down to 2.90 in Fall 2016. FAMU had a higher freshman average at 3.54, but it took a $1.4M loss in tuition and fees for 2016-2017 due to the enrollment decline.
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