USC's incoming freshman class is expected to well exceed prior expectations of enrollment, according to university officials.
With the class of 2021 numbering hundreds more than in years past, the question remains between now and August whether the university will be able to properly house its newest batch of freshmen. Though measures will be taken to expand accommodations, vice president of student affairs and vice provost Dennis Pruitt is positive it will, even believing the increase will assist a new round of staff hiring.
Elsewhere in the Southeastern Conference, the University of Missouri announced new layoffs Monday partly due to falling enrollment. That perhaps explains why Pruitt, who also serves as USC’s dean of students, isn’t worried about having too many students. Though adding that enrollment projections are somewhat unreliable due to a wide variety of factors he collectively refers to as “summer melt,” he estimated the size of USC’s 2017 freshman enrollment at 5,600 to 5,700 students, well up from 5,036 in 2016. In all, Pruitt estimates 8,200 to 8,500 new students will step onto campus in the fall of 2017 between freshmen enrollment, transfers, Gamecock Gateway and more.
“We are so lucky here today compared to what’s going on at Missouri,” Pruitt said.
One explanation Pruitt proposed for the sudden jump in enrollment is the phenomenon of American universities undergoing a spike in applications following an outburst of athletic success. Informally known as the “Flutie Effect,” the concept is named after former Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie.
In a November 1984 football game, Flutie’s Golden Eagles famously edged the defending national champion University of Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes on a 48-yard touchdown pass with no time remaining. Applications to Boston College increased by 12 percent in 1985.
In USC’s case, Pruitt refers to the phenomenon as the “basketball bump,” a nod to the Gamecocks’ Final Four runs, which ended with a women's basketball national title. With each tournament win, the USC brand received more and more exposure across television networks and venues in Dallas, Phoenix and New York City.
But the exposure brought on a new challenge. Despite the projected freshman enrollment of 5,600 to 5,700, USC’s target was 5,300 to 5,400. Pruitt said freshman overflow has occurred before, but in previous years administration would rent hotel rooms for students through the fall semester. But with a building boom in off-campus student housing, reservations will not be necessary this fall. To accommodate the overflow, the University has contracted off-campus housing partners Park Place and Aspyre to volunteer 500 and 250 beds for incoming freshmen, respectively.
For the incoming class of 2021, Pruitt also expects an increase of 500 in-state students over the 2016 figure, due in part to USC’s partnership with Raise.Me, an online service providing students with “micro-scholarships” for high school achievements. Partnered with over 225 colleges, Raise.Me is available to students at 56 South Carolina high schools. Pruitt noted the program’s popularity with students in rural and other “under-represented” parts of the state.
Despite the shaky nature of predicting the number of admissions, Pruitt believes one notable demographic will come up short: international students. Pruitt estimates USC will admit 150 to 175 new international students this fall against a target of 250. He believes the blame lies with the “non-inclusiveness” conveyed by the federal government.
“It just depends what visa situations are, but we may have to revisit that goal and modify it some,” Pruitt said.
Still standing, he added, is the university’s goal to take in 400 international students in 2021.
Pruitt adds that USC is hiring faculty and staff as the student body expands, listing the Career Center and the Office of Financial Aid as two of many departments seeking new employees.
“All the people need service, and there’s jobs being generated by that. And more faculty jobs as well,” Pruitt said. “It’s a good news story for us.”