Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series looking at enrollment data from LSU since 2001. For more interactive graphics about international and national student enrollment, visit lsureveille.com/enrollment.
While the University released fall 2013 enrollment statistics last week, data compiled by The Daily Reveille representing the past 13 years reveals that the number of students attending the University from smaller parishes has increased while the number of students coming to LSU has decreased.
Between fall 2001 and fall 2013, a total of 99,019 East Baton Rouge Parish residents have enrolled at the University — the most of any parish in the state.
This can be attributed to a strong alumni network and the large number of high schools in Baton Rouge, said Mandy Hoffman, associate director of Communication, Programs and Tours.
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment Management David Kurpius said students from EBR Parish also have less competition between universities than students from the Greater New Orleans area, who are recruited by other schools like the University of New Orleans and Xavier University.
However, every year since 2001, when nearly 10,000 EBR residents enrolled at the University, there was a decrease in students coming to the University from the surrounding area. This fall, there are slightly more than 6,500 EBR students enrolled at the University.
While the major metropolitan areas of Louisiana have seen a similar decline in the number of students enrolled at the University, enrollment from smaller parishes rose with total number of residents each year since fall 2009.
To draw students from smaller regions of the state, the Office of Enrollment Management has focused heavily on its recruiting efforts. One such way is through highly targeted and strategic messages, Hoffman said.
For example, a high school student in Pineville would receive direct mail featuring an LSU student from Pineville.
“This allows students to picture themselves at LSU,” Hoffman said.
In 2009, 354 students from Rapides Parish, where Pineville is located, enrolled at the University. Today, there are 370 students enrolled — a 4.5 percent increase.
Despite students choosing schools closer to home, more residents are coming to the University because the in-state percentage has gone up, Kurpius said.
Economics play a key role in regional students enrolling at the University.
“With greater pressure on cost of attendance and downward pressure on family finances, families are making choices based on economics,” Kurpius said.
TOPS is an incentive for Louisiana residents to choose an in-state public institution versus an in-state private institution. As tuition increases, TOPS also increases so students don’t feel financial pressure.
However, one thing that remains consistent in enrollment among Louisiana residents is the number of female students enrolled is higher than male students, despite a decline in the University female population.
In Lafayette Parish, which represents similar statistics of the majority of parishes statewide, the number of male students enrolling at the University has never risen above 48 percent between fall 2001 and fall 2013.
“That is a national trend, not solely an LSU trend,” Kurpius said. “More women are preparing for college. They are taking it very seriously. That trend is not continuing for men.”