THE RICHARD STOCKTON COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY
Richard Stockton College Spring Enrollment Maintains Controlled Growth
Enrollment Holds Steady as College Progresses With Expansion Plans
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Contacts: Tim Kelly
Stockton Public Relations
(609) 652-4950
Kim McCabe
Student Affairs Communications
(609) 652-4866
GALLOWAY TWP. - Enrollment figures reported for the spring semester 2006 at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey are consistent with the controlled growth and capacity plan implemented by the College in fall 2004. The college successfully maintained enrollment while keeping academic excellence, accessibility and quality services to New Jersey students in the forefront.
We are pleased to have met the early projections of our facilities master plan, as well as our vision for growing the College in a responsible way, said President Herman J. Saatkamp, Jr. The initial phase of our campus expansion is on schedule with no disruption of classes, and Stockton is ranked among the top-six public liberal arts colleges in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Reports Americas Best Colleges latest issue.
Stockton welcomed more than 600 new students this semester. While this total represents an amount roughly equivalent to last spring, it falls within the realm of the Colleges planned enrollment growth as announced in the fall of 2004 by the Board of Trustees and President Saatkamp. The F-Wing overbuild project, with construction expected to be finished this summer, will add classrooms, faculty offices and a lecture hall among other needed facilities. Other facilities planned for the near future include increased student housing, a new college center and a new science building.
Measured growth requires that Stockton maintain its undergraduate enrollment at a steady level as we plan for enrollment increases commensurate with our facilities availability, said Sal Catalfamo, Dean of Enrollment Management. The continued growth in our graduate programs student body is indicative of the Colleges ability to provide faculty and facilities in the evening. Everyone looks forward to the completion of the first phase of campus expansion so that the College can increase capacity during daytime hours.
Our overall enrollment management and registration goal, as approved by the President, requires us to continually monitor the strategic balance of graduates with newly enrolled students in order to maintain sound fiscal management, said Joseph Marchetti, Vice President for Student Affairs. Based on present circumstances, our student body is near an optimal size that enables the College to provide each student with quality support services and academic excellence. Maintaining enrollment growth while the campus expands ensures that we sustain those qualities that have become the hallmarks of a Stockton education.
Total college enrollment for spring 2006 is 6,685, which includes a record number of 425 graduate and post-baccalaureate students. Total undergraduate enrollment is 6,260. Retention of first-time freshman students from fall to spring was reported to be 93%, according to Stocktons Office of Institutional Research. At the Colleges December 2005 commencement ceremony, 702 undergraduate and graduate degrees were conferred.
Stockton College, nestled in 1,600 acres of New Jerseys Pinelands, is the largest college campus in the state. It is a 15-minute drive from popular beach resorts. Stockton offers many of the educational benefits found in private colleges costing much more, as well as the cultural benefits of a public university. It has the added benefit of maintaining one of the lowest tuition costs in the state.
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