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Eastern Enrollment Growth Is Highest In The State
(Press Release 10-06-06)
Hank Mooney, Office of Public Information

The numbers are in and the news is great for Eastern Oklahoma State College. According to the Preliminary Enrollment Report released by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Eastern has the largest fall enrollment increase for public colleges and universities in Oklahoma.

While the state saw an overall drop of 1.5 percent in the number of enrolled students, the headcount at Eastern grew by 8.2 percent. There are currently 2,134 students enrolled at Eastern, compared to 1,972 one year ago.

But there are even more significant rises at Eastern in the number of students enrolled online and through concurrent enrollment.

The biggest individual jump in enrollment this year was the number of students taking online courses. The numbers went up 68.12 percent this fall, going from an enrollment of 138 to 232.

“The reason we have had such an increase in online enrollment is that our faculty has made a concerted effort to offer more online courses, making our classes more convenient for students,” said Leah Miller, Eastern Director of Enrollment Management.

This, according to Miller, is helping to meet the needs of the school’s non-traditional students, such as those served by the McAlester campus.

This year’s concurrent enrollment of high school students in college classes saw a huge increase, with a 41.98 percent rise in numbers. Concurrent enrollment allows high school students to gain college credit while still working toward their diplomas.

“The State Regents are providing tuition waivers for concurrent high school seniors,” Miller said. “These waivers have helped bring the concurrent numbers up.”

Miller added that Eastern itself offers tuition waivers to high school juniors participating in concurrent enrollment. Currently there are 115 high school students enrolled compared to 81 in the fall of 2005.

The number of students actually at the Wilburton campus saw a 7.5 percent increase. Last year’s headcount was 893 and the fall 2006 numbers show 960 students enrolled.

Another notable in this year’s numbers is the addition of the first year program in Antlers. In its inaugural semester, there are 51 students enrolled to take courses through Eastern at the Antlers Kiamichi Technology Center. The new program offers first-year college courses to students who otherwise may not have found the time to further their education.

“Thanks to the efforts of Representative R.C. Pruett and Senator Jeff Rabon, 51 students in the Antlers area are getting their first opportunity for higher education,” Eastern President Dr. Richard Bernard said. “Due to these fine leaders we are pleased to be able to bring classes to these students.”

Caption info:
Leah Miller, right, Director of Enrollment Management at Eastern Oklahoma State College helps Shane Harris, Freshman from Wright City, to enroll for fall classes. Eastern experienced the largest rise in enrollment numbers among colleges and universities in the state of Oklahoma when classes began in August according to a recent enrollment report published by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.