NEWPORT, Ark. (9/19/2014) — Arkansas State University-Newport announced Friday that its enrollment of 2,494 students for the Fall 2014 semester represents a new high-enrollment mark for the two-year college.  The enrollment tops the previous mark of 2,160 set during the Spring 2013 semester, and also tops the fall semester enrollment record of 2,043 set in 2012.

Arkansas State University-Newport is a degree-granting community college with campus locations in Newport, Jonesboro and Marked Tree, Arkansas.

According to preliminary data released this week by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, ASU-Newport’s enrollment of 2,494 students represents a 22.3 percent increase over the Fall 2013 semester enrollment of 2,039.  That figure represents the highest percentage increase for any two or four-year institution in the state of Arkansas.

“I am extremely pleased with our enrollment numbers and feel they reflect the collaborative effort of our faculty and staff,” said ASU-Newport Chancellor Dr. Sandra Massey.  “Our concurrent enrollment is up significantly, and we have realized increases in all other categories as well, including online and prison education.”

“Anecdotally, we attribute the increases to several factors,” added Massey.  “We have undergone a reorganization of vice chancellors and deans, resulting in better alignment of resources and priorities across our three campuses.  ASUN’s remedial course redesign seems to have helped improve overall retention rates and we have also implemented changes in student requirements such as a mandatory freshman seminar course and new student orientation.  Over the summer, more than 740 students and 500 family members attended new student orientation, and students were informed, advised and enrolled before leaving campus. These and other new initiatives follow researched-based best practices for two-year colleges supported by the Arkansas Association of Two-Year Colleges, the Arkansas Department of Higher Education and the American Association of Community Colleges.”

Arkansas State University-Newport currently has concurrent enrollment agreements with nine area schools, serving students at Bay, Brookland, Harrisburg, the Northeast Arkansas Career and Technical Center, Newport, McCrory, Trumann, Tuckerman and Riverside High Schools.