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NEWS

Carey’s School of Education sets record

Ellen Ciurczak
American Staff Writer

The William Carey University School of Education has set a record. As of August, it reached its highest enrollment ever with 1,270 students.

That number is 150 more students than last year at this time and several dozen more than the last highest number of 1,244 in fall 2012.

“Traditionally, our highest numbers are in the fall, so to be 150 ahead of last fall is really incredible,” said Ben Burnett, dean of the School of Education.

Burnett said one reason for the increase is the school has gone looking for students.

“We have done a lot of recruiting this year,” he said. “There is no substitute for face-to-face recruitment at school districts and conferences.”

Burnett said the growth is also due to a number of new offerings including several programs that are now being offered in online formats.

“Most of our enrollment is in the graduate programs,” he said. “We have a lot of people scattered across the state who are taking our master’s degree online.

“We’re starting a 100 percent online doctoral degree that will begin in November of this year.”

Other online options include a bachelor’s degree in physical education, master’s degrees in education with multiple specialty areas and a specialist degree in instructional leadership.

“The new online specialist program has 120 students in it,” Burnett said. “That one degree has really contributed to increasing our enrollment.”

Burnett said the online programs are perfect for busy graduate students.

“They won’t have to take off work or take night classes because all of their coursework is online,” he said. “If there’s one key to our success, it’s our online programs.”

William Carey President Tommy King said what was happening in the School of Education was happening in many departments on campus.

“This healthy increase mirrors the overall growth of the university and bodes well for the future of Carey,” he said in a news release.

Burnett believes the background of the teachers in the School of Education is also an attraction for students.

“The overwhelming majority of my faculty are K-12 teachers or administrators,” he said. “Many of them have more than 30 years’ experience.

“They have a lot to offer. We have a lot of students who will choose us because of their personal attention.”

Burnett said the school is facing one challenge.

“Our undergraduate enrollment has declined over the past five years — not dramatically — so we are having a push to recruit students out of high school or community college,” he said. “We’re really going to focus on talking to people who are thinking about going into education and tell them, ‘Consider William Carey.’ ”

Burnett said despite the slight decline in undergraduate enrollment, the future looks bright.

“We’re excited that more students are choosing us and I feel like we’re just getting started,” he said. “We plan for this enrollment increase to continue every year.”