Students fill the Student Union Wednesday afternoon. (DM Photo | Logan Kirkland)
With increasing enrollment, The University of Mississippi is straining itself to accommodate the influx of students in classes. Increasing growth raises concerns about issues like classroom availability, class sections and the number of faculty available.
Scott Fiene, director of the integrated marketing communications program in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media, said two main issues for his department are space and faculty.
“There is a lag between student growth and the number of faculty we have,” Fiene said.
Fiene stressed that although it is a challenge, the university’s growth is, overall, a positive thing.
“It is a concern, but I will say this: It’s a good problem to have,” he said. “It’s a sign of a growing, vibrant program, and although it’s very challenging, I don’t want it to be lost as a negative thing. It’s a good thing.”
The journalism school is not the only department experiencing growing pains. The School of Engineering is another area on campus expanding rapidly.
“We’re trying a number of different approaches to this good problem that we have: increased faculty for sure,” said Marni Kendrick, assistant dean of undergraduate academics.
One solution the university is using to accommodate more students is hybrid courses, where students attend class some days and get the rest of their instruction from their professors’ pre-recorded, web-based lectures, which reduces the need for reserving classrooms.
“For our core engineering, we’re simply walking all over campus to find more spaces,” Kendrick said.
She said despite any issues that arise from overcrowding, the faculty and students have adapted really well and are enjoying the new surge of students.
“Space is an issue and number of faculty: We just have to continue growing in unison, in step with our student body,” Kendrick said.
When asked if students should be worried about the waitlisted courses, Kendrick said, “We try to tell our students ‘We’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you stay on track to graduate on time.’ We try to consider that a high priority.”
The increasing enrollment creates obstacles for students, in particular with course registration. Students sometimes find it difficult to get into classes they need and end up being waitlisted. This raises concerns for students about whether or not they will be able to get into their prerequisite classes and major classes in time to graduate.
Many factors are considered when determining course registration: these include physical classroom size, accreditation for schools and faculty input. Each school can set its own course registration numbers as long as the class size does not exceed the safety capacity that the university sets in regards to fire and safety hazards. In skills-based courses, the schools must significantly limit the amount of students in order to keep accreditation.
Danny Blanton, director of public relations for the university, said the university is making significant strides in response to increased enrollment.
“One aspect of having sustained 20 years of growth is the need to accommodate that historic growth,” Blanton said. “Students have selected us for the quality education they will receive here, and it is incumbent on us to maintain the facilities and resources to continue to provide the world class education they seek.”
He continued by naming current and future projects that will alleviate the expansion problem.
“There is an addition underway to Coulter Hall which will create state-of-the-art research space and an auditorium for the university’s growing population,” Blanton said. “There is an addition to the Pharmacy School which will nearly double the school’s available research space.”
Blanton said the university is committed to adding new classrooms, labs and facilities, spending over $200 million in construction projects around campus.
