Classrooms from Sanford Hall
(above) to Walker Hall are filled to capacity as faculty members
are not replaced due to a state hiring freeze.
Appalachian State University
is preparing for growth in student enrollment due to a national
trend of larger numbers of students entering colleges and universities.
Different areas at Appalachian are “stepping
up to the plate” in order to deal with the increase in students,
said Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs Jane P. Helm.
Appalachian is seeing a 100–150 student enrollment
increase each year, said Helm. She said she expects to see this
number steadily increase.
The North Carolina General
Assembly appropriates enrollment increase money each year that is
used toward the needs of Appalachian’s growing student body,
said Helm.
One concern with increasing student numbers is the possibility of
class size enlarging.
“It’s not clear that we will have to see class sizes increase,”
said Bobby H. Sharp, director of Institutional Research and Planning.
“There is no reason to assume class sizes will go up because
of additional faculty resources.”
These additional faculty resources are dependent upon money appropriations,
and appropriations rely on the state budget, which will eventually
become a problem if the budget cutbacks continue and enrollment
maintains its level of growth, said Helm.
“These are difficult times economically,” said Helm. “You
can’t cut resources without a negative impact.”
The current budget cut passed by the general assembly is 3 percent,
much less than the anticipated 8-15 percent cut. In the Sept. 24
edition of The Appalachian, Helm said an additional budget cut was
still likely.
Administrators are preparing for the increase in students and the
possibility of Appalachian being forced to heighten the application
selection process.
“There will certainly be a time, if funds shrink and student
enrollment grows, when we would not be able to accept as many as
we would like to,” said Helm.
Associate Director of Admissions Paul N. Hiatt was unavailable for
comment at press time.
With the current trend, students can look for average class size
to go up a little, said Sharp.
“Routinely offering teeny-tiny classes is not cost effective,”
he said.
Most lower-level classes may not see an impact, he said. “[Lower-level]
class sizes are 25-30 students and have been that way for a long
time,” said Sharp.
The classes most likely to see an impact will be smaller graduate
and upper-level courses.
Sharp also mentioned the possibility of offering more classes later
in the day to compensate for those classes that cannot be offered
during the middle of the day due to classroom shortages.
Along with more classes, extra facilities will also be needed to
accommodate student growth. Added classrooms, more staff, more dining
areas and a larger bookstore are a few of the facilities Appalachian
must eventually see in order to accommodate development, said Helm.
