MSU Meridian sees increase in fall enrollment

Since taking over as head of campus three years ago, Dr. Terry Dale Cruse has fallen in love with the MSU Meridian campus, and with their latest 14% increase in enrollment for this year’s fall semester, he has even more reason to love it.

“Well, we’re very excited about the increase that we’ve been able to see in our fall enrollment. Of course, that’s reflective of a lot of hard work of faculty and staff. So, I’m very proud of our folks and the hard work they’ve put into creating new programs and attracting more students to MSU Meridian,” says Dr. Cruse.

Since starting their professional Masters of Business and Administration cohort program, they have 33 students enrolled. They have also started the Professional Advancement For Teacher Assistance, which has brought an increase in elementary education majors, and there are double the amount of these majors on campus since 2015.

Dr. Cruse says, “We have the benefit of having the support and resources of the state’s leading research university but still being small enough that we’re able to develop strong relationships with our students. We also get to see a lot of students through the process of earning a bachelor’s degree, which otherwise might not be possible if Mississippi State did not have a campus in Meridian. So, that’s the most rewarding part of my job.”

MSU Meridian has partnered with the Meridian Public School District and the Phil Hardin Foundation to produce new alternate route certification using graduate classes for students who already have undergraduate degrees. Dr. Cruse says the enrollment increase is mostly graduate students, with there being 58 more now enrolled.