JBU enrollment up

SILOAM SPRINGS — John Brown University's total enrollment for the 2009-2010 academic year rose to 2,073 students according to the "11th Day Report," an assessment all institutions of higher education must file annually with the Arkansas Department of Education.

The graduate programs saw the largest enrollment jump, with an increase of over 16 percent. The MBA program, JBU's most popular grad program, grew by 58 percent over fall 2008.

JBU's newly-launched online MBA option represents about 15 percent of the MBA enrollment.

"Many of our students are working adults who are returning to the classroom a number of years after completing their bachelor's degrees," said Dr. Richard Ellis, dean of graduate and professional studies. "A master's degree gives these students a competitive edge over their peers in a time of uncertain employment. For younger students coming to JBU right out of college, graduate study will help launch them into a competitive job market with advanced credentials."

In the traditional undergraduate program, 383 new students began classes at JBU this fall, including first-time freshmen and transfer students.

"We are pleased to see that despite the state of the economy, people are still seeing the value of a quality education at a private Christian university," said Don Crandall, vice president of enrollment. "In addition to being a large incoming class, this year's new students are very strong both academically and in diversity. They have an average ACT score of 25.4 and average high school GPA of 3.57. Our new students represent 30 states and 22 countries."

With enrollment in adult undergraduate programs at 430 and graduate programs at 360, JBU's total enrollment for this year comes in at 2,073. This is the fourth year in a row that JBU's total enrollment has passed the 2,000 mark.

In addition to student counts, the "11th Day Report" also shows JBU's top five majors for undergraduate students. They are (in order): graphic design, engineering, digital media arts, business administration and biology.