UA Sets Record, Springdale Tops Public School List
by October 29, 2001 12:00 am 105 views
The University of Arkansas set a new record for enrollment this fall with 15,795 students, breaking the previous record of 15,604, set in 1980.
Last year, the main campus of the UA system in Fayetteville had 15,396 students. This year’s number is a 2.6 percent increase.
Westark College in Fort Smith, which will become part of the UA system on Jan. 1, saw a 3.6 percent increase in enrollment to 5,743. Westark is the second-largest college in Northwest Arkansas.
NorthWest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville grew by 12.9 percent, and Webster University in Fayetteville gained 16 students for a 19 percent increase to 100.
With 11,849 students, Springdale has the largest school district in Northwest Arkansas and the fastest-growing district in the state. Springdale had an increase of 456 students since fall of 2000. The previous year saw Springdale’s enrollment jump by 1,021 students. That’s a 14.2 percent increase from fall 1999 to fall 2001. By 2010, enrollment is expected to top 18,000 in Springdale’s schools.
Rogers has the second-largest school district in the area with 11,384 students. Rogers schools enrolled an additional 384 students this fall compared with last year. The district has seen enrollment increase by 10.5 percent since fall 1999.
Bentonville also had a hefty jump in enrollment. An extra 350 students are attending Bentonville schools this fall. That makes total enrollment there 7,250, an 8.9 percent increase over fall 1999.
Fayetteville, No 3 in the rankings just above Bentonville, posted an increase of only 29 students this fall to total 8,129.
Some of the smaller school districts in the area had a decline in enrollment this year. Gravette, Gentry, Lincoln, Decatur and Winslow all posted an enrollment decrease compared with fall 2000.