Freshmen enrollment increasing consistently

Enrollment numbers are looking up this year with a projected three percent increase throughout the university.

The undergraduate increase is about a five percent increase.

The enrollment numbers have gone up significantly since Hurricane Katrina. In the fall of 2005, Loyola had more than 900 incoming students.

 In 2007, there were about 500 students in each incoming class, and this year there are about 800 incoming students.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Ed Kvet said that the university is looking towards the future. His hope is to have 850 incoming students by next year, bringing numbers nearly back to pre-Katrina standards.

"Last year, we projected 750 and got 800. We're looking to the future," Kvet said. 

Salvador Liberto, vice-president for enrollment management, has been working to attract more people to Loyola. One strategy is to sell New Orleans to prospective students.

"We want to brand Uptown New Orleans as a nice place, a wonderful neighborhood, and a place that students would like to go to school," Liberto said. 

"New Orleans is being portrayed in a positive light and Loyola is embracing that."

According to Kvet, Loyola is trying to attract more students who want a full and meaningful Jesuit education.

"We want to make sure the right kind of students come here. That idea of coming here just for a good time has dissipated," Kvet said. "Students are coming with a desire to provide service. As a Jesuit institution service is in our DNA…we want to be part of the resurrection - of the efforts of creating a sustainable environment and really be part of the city."

The university has added a prospective student brunch in the fall to give people a chance to see Loyola sooner. Kvet said getting students and their parents on campus is important, "…especially after Hurricane Katrina when people still thought that we were still wading in water."

According to Kvet, "New Orleans is an infectious community," that students and parents alike both embrace.

Selling Loyola has been another goal in attracting incoming students. Liberto wants prospective students to really understand the university by telling specific stories about students and New Orleans. "We want to celebrate the Jesuit trajectory of how rich and deep the experience is here," Liberto said.

Though Loyola is working very hard to expose out-of- state students to Loyola, Liberto says the university is still trying to appeal to local students who have been the main applicants throughout the years.  

Different projects such as infrastructure, buildings and new curricular programs are also helping to bring in incoming students. There are new programs in Latin American studies, New Orleans studies, and there is soon to be a major in environmental studies. 

Meagan Lanier can be reached  at mclanier@loyno.edu