By Ashlynn Worley

Quincy University is growing in numbers.

The 2018 incoming freshman class saw a significant increase in numbers since last year.

This fall, QU welcomed 349 new freshman and transfer students.

That is an 11 percent increase over last fall’s enrollment numbers.

Overall, 1,124 new faces are on campus this year.

The total enrollment number for this semester includes freshman, transfer students, part-time undergraduate and graduate program students.

Taylor Leudwick is a freshman from Moberly, Missouri.

When asked why she chose to attend QU, she said it was not exactly her first choice.

“My uncle came here whenever he finished high school and he was only here two years. Originally I didn’t want to come here [QU] I wanted to go to Hannibal-LaGrange or Culver-Stockton and then I was like um no because then I came here and the campus was really pretty,” Leudwick said. “My mom always told me to get out of Missouri then whenever I wanted to she got like really scared but yeah, I just decided I was going to come here.”

QU’s Vice President of Enrollment Management Tom Oliver said he is pleased with this year’s numbers.

“Students and families responded well to the University’s efforts to bring greater transparency to the true cost of a QU education, underscoring the exceptional value the university provided each of its students,” Oliver said.

According to the University’s website, overall enrollment in the last two years has fluctuated.

In 2016, QU welcomed the largest freshman class in over two decades.

Overall enrollment in the fall of 2017 dropped by 6 percent.

The number of freshman and transfer students for 2018 topped the 2016 record by over 50 students.

But, the total number of students enrolled last year compared to this year only grew by 26 students.

However, the total number of incoming freshman and transfer students alone compared to last year saw a double-digit increase of 11 percent.

President Phil Conover said he is very optimistic about the future of the university.

“The positive growth in enrollment is additionally significant given our limited resources as we enter the second year of our renewed effort to achieve long-term sustainability,” Conover said.

According to the Associated Press, Western Illinois University experienced a significant decline in student enrollment this year.

The Quad-City Times reported that combined enrollment at the Macomb and Moline campuses dropped from 11,700 students to about 9,400 students in four years.

Although WIU has a larger student body compared to QU, agriculture professor Mark Bernards said projected enrollment for WIU this fall is expected to be about 8,000, which is a decline of 14 percent.

Another highlight of QU’s 2018 enrollment is a 20 percent increase in Graduate students.

Last year, QU created an Office of Graduate Studies and hired a coordinator to help meet the demands of the growing number of graduate students.

In addition to an increase in the headcount, QU also recognizes over a $1 million increase in net tuition revenue this fall.

Expense reductions totaling $2.3 million have also been made since May 2015.

Looking ahead to next fall, Oliver is already planning new ways to continue increasing the student population.

“In the coming year, the admission staff will accelerate efforts to increase the University’s geographic reach, attracting increasing
numbers of students from the tri-states and high growth areas across the country,” Oliver said.

Interestingly, out of the 349 freshman and transfer students this year, 210 are male and 139 are female.