ODU SETS NEW ENROLLMENT RECORD -- 21,000
Old Dominion University has set a new enrollment record for the third straight year, with approximately 21,000 students taking classes for the fall 2003 semester. This is a 4.5 percent increase over the 2002 figure of 20,105.
This number includes about 4,951 new students, approximately 2,064 of whom are first-time freshmen, a 14 percent increase over last year. Official fall enrollment numbers will be released in late October.
Among the students accepted for the fall, the university has seen a better than 13 percent increase in those admitted with distinction � students who have a minimum 3.3 high school grade point average and an SAT score of 1180 or above.
"I think you can attribute these increases to a variety of factors," said John R. Broderick, vice president for institutional advancement and admissions. "Students are looking for excellent faculty, and year after year the Virginia State Council for Higher Education validates that we have some of the best. The best and brightest students also are looking to be around other high achievers. They have noticed that ODU students are becoming Rhodes Scholars, Truman Fellows and USA Today Academic All-Americans.
"In fact, if you look at the recent list of Scholastic Achievers in Hampton Roads, 25 students recognized as tops in their high school are now students at Old Dominion."
Broderick added that new facilities such as the Constant Convocation Center and Constant Hall, home of the College of Business and Public Administration, the University Village Apartments and the forthcoming Engineering and Computational Sciences Building have further contributed to the excitement about the university.
In addition, the success of Old Dominion's distance learning initiative, TELETECHNET, its four higher education centers and its Weekend College program also have played a role recent enrollment increases.
"When you consider our main campus, higher education centers and numerous TELETECHNET sites located throughout the commonwealth, no Virginian is more than 50 miles away from an Old Dominion education," Broderick noted.