Enrollment has increased this year at Loyola, bringing more first-year students and successfully enrolling more full-time undergraduates than in previous years.
Overall enrollment has increased by 1.5 percent from last year, after having decreased by 40 percent due to Hurricane Katrina, and full-time undergraduate enrollment has grown by 88 percent, according to Salvadore A. Liberto, vice president for Enrollment Management and associate provost.
The university has achieved this by working harder to get in touch with prospective students.
“We’ve significantly increased our marketing. We are traveling more for recruitment and we have a great, dynamic staff who are working very efficiently and communicating very well to prospective students and their families,” Liberto said.
Enrollment began to increase in fall 2009, and the university is not accepting more students than it can sustain.
“The enrollment numbers are tied to issues of capacity and budget. We plan to grow again this year, and there will still be some room to grow in the following year as well,” Liberto said.
According to the Associate Director of Residential Life, Amy Boyle, the residence halls are still working within their capacity.
“The fact is, the residence halls were built to accommodate this many students,” Boyle said.
According to Boyle, the rooms in Biever Hall that began to house three students this academic year were built to house that number, meaning the residence hall has only been filled to its capacity, not beyond it. Room prices were adjusted according to space.
“Costs are necessarily adjusted; it’s simply that singles, doubles and triples are priced at points according to space and efficiency,” Boyle said.
The increase in enrollment has not only filled the residence halls, but it has also increased the availability of programs for students who live there. According to Boyle, there are more employment opportunities within the Residential Life department, and the Residence Hall Association and the Hall Councils are constantly planning programs and activities for students.
“We are excited about the energy students are bringing to on-campus living and are striving to give them as many opportunities as possible to get involved,” Boyle said.
These opportunities have also helped the Admissions Office in its effort to increase retention rates. According to Liberto, the Admissions Office has also started initiatives of its own, such as the hiring of Liz Rainey, success and retention coordinator, and plans to increase mentoring opportunities and other services for students.
Besides providing students with more opportunities, this increase in the demand for a Loyola education is also helping New Orleans along the road to full recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
“It’s good to be at capacity-more opportunity for everyone. The university is in high demand. The city benefits, too,” Liberto said. “Bottom line: this is a great university- the whole world needs to know about us.”
Vannia Zelaya can be reached at
