After two years of sagging post-Katrina admissions, the university has hastened to make this year’s incoming class a symbol of progress.
The Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., university president, highlighted this year’s larger-than-expected freshman class at both faculty and student convocations held on Sept. 18 and 22 respectively.
“For this year we targeted an incoming first year class of 600 students. I am delighted to report that this year’s class is over 700, and the profile of the class is excellent,” Wildes told faculty early in his speech.
At the student convocation last Friday the new Vice President for Enrollment Management Sal Liberto opened the ceremony with a speech about the diversity of the new class.
According to the Web site for the Office of the President 713 students have enrolled as freshman for this year – a 34 percent increase from last year’s numbers. The university’s Office of Institutional Research said the enrollment numbers were continuously updated and will not be official until Sept. 15.
Last year’s unofficial enrollment estimates overshot the eventual level by 28 students.
At both convocation ceremonies the president focused on the incoming undergraduate class and did not mention enrollment or application numbers for any of the graduate programs offered at Loyola.
Other issues covered at convocation:
The university ended the fiscal year on July 31 with a surplus of $90,000 because of an increase in summer course enrollments and other revenue from additional avenues.
Wildes covered facilities changes around campus including the Danna Center renovations and ongoing studio renovations in the Music/Communications Building.
Parental Leave Policy was revised for faculty and staff to allow a four-week paid leave for birth, adoptions and foster child placements. A revised Tuition Remission Policy now allows staff to take up to one course during work hours. The university implemented a faculty dining room as well as memberships to the University Sports Complex.
Steve Heath can be reached at [email protected].
