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Florida Southern College Enrollment
Reaches 20 Year High with 1800 Students

LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 6, 2002) - Florida Southern College opened the 2002-03 academic year Tuesday with a total full-time enrollment of eighteen hundred students. This marks a twenty-year high in enrollment for the college. The college's long-range plan has an eighteen hundred student enrollment goal and it has been reached a year early. 

"Obviously, we're delighted with this year's numbers," said Florida Southern College President Dr. Thomas L. Reuschling. "We've been working hard over the past years to achieve the eighteen hundred goal. To achieve it ahead of schedule is especially satisfying." The college's enrollment has seen steady increase from about 1375 in the early '90s..

New students totaled 652, exceeding the projected goal of 640. This year's overall higher student enrollment can be attributed to the large group of new students and the largest group of returning students in many years. "We had large freshman classes in 2000 and 2001. It was the first time in 40 years that Florida Southern had two consecutive freshman classes of more than 500 students. These students are returning in good numbers which is a tribute to the strong efforts of our faculty and staff reinforced by the improvements to the campus over the past few years." Last year's total full-time undergraduate enrollment was 1,752 students. 

Florida Southern continues to have strong Florida representation in its student population. Approximately seventy-two percent of its students are from Florida. Slightly over twenty-three percent are from out-of-state. International students total about 4.5 % of the campus population and minority students are approximately 11%.

"Schedules are still being finalized for a small percentage of students," said Reuschling. "We are anticipating a great year with full parking lots."

The Orlando program and evening MBA classes at Florida Southern College are also seeing increased enrollment. The Orlando program has a 13% increase and the evening MBA program had a 6% increase in enrollment.

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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