Southern Accent
The student voice since 1926
Collegedale, Tennessee
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Enrollment increases for the first time in three years Audrey Fankhanel Lead Reporter
After a slight decline in enrollment over the last few years, Southern Adventist University has regained students. This semester, there are currently 2,353 undergraduates on campus, with the total number of students enrolled at Southern this year at 3,035. According to the registration figures from the records department, total enrollment was only 2,959 students last year. The specific reasons more students nationwide are choosing Southern are still under analysis by the records department; however, the records department has provided data that give insight into the increase in students. Freshmen enrollment is at its highest number in five years. The freshman count for
Fall 2017 is 567 students. In 2016, only 502 freshmen were enrolled at SAU. The largest age group on campus is 17-to-18-year-olds, most likely because of this increase. Each year for the last five years, first-year enrollment has fluctuated with a general trend of growth. These numbers are based off of the final Fall 2017 registration figures provided by the records department. The implications of first-year enrollment growth for Southern over a longer period of time are still unknown, since this trend is just beginning. Also according to the final Fall 2017 registration figures, there has been an influx of students from the West Coast. California is one of the top five states for enrollment at 280 students, alongside Tennessee, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. Records and Advising is cur-
rently monitoring the trend and will continue to investigate possible draws bringing students from the Pacific to the South once they receive reports from various Adventist academies. Not only is SAU becoming more regionally diverse, but also more racially diverse. While the on-campus black population has diminished slightly this year, SAU has seen an increase in Asian and Hispanic enrollment. Combined, Asians and Hispanics make up 35.62 percent of the student body. At 47.15 percent, white students make up less than half of enrollment. While the final Fall 2017 registration figures provide insight into current enrollment patterns, further analyses by the records department will not be available until the department’s progress report is completed.
Vol. 73, Issue 2
SAU demographics: American/ Alaska Native: 0.12%
2 or more races: 5.58%
Asian: 12.58% White: 47.15% Black or African American: 10.92%
Hispanic: 23.04%
Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander: 0.62% Information provided by the records Department
USM President Andrew Taylor to visit from Oakwood Natalia Perez Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Taylor, Oakwood’s United Student Movement (USM) President is coming to visit Southern to personally invite all Southern students to the DEEP Sabbath program held at Oakwood University on October 21. Taylor will be intro-
duced to our students to extend the invitation at lawn vespers this Friday along with, Phillip Warfield, (SA President). “My visit to Southern means a lot personally because it shows Oakwood is appreciated on your campus and that we are looking to make great connections this weekend,” Taylor said. “I anticipate that we will be able to
create excitement about DEEP Sabbath with our theme being Redefined this year and I’m expecting to see my friends I have at Southern and create new ones.” “Inviting President Andrew to come is monumental for our campuses,” Warfield said. “Since we haven’t had an exchange program for DEEP in years, it
means a lot for our leaders to communicate and collaborate together and exchange dialogue. My hope is that we start to eradicate our stereotypes and learn from each other. I am happy to have been extended the invitation to do the same at Oakwood the following semester.”
Andrew Taylor