JBU Credits Program Expansion For Enrollment Increase

Enrollment at John Brown University in Siloam Springs has seen a recent surge, with numbers increasing by 47 percent during the past decade and by 29 percent during the past three years, according to data from the school.

Vice president of enrollment Don Crandall said the increase is mainly due to enrollment gains in graduate students and also in high school students earning college credit through the school’s concurrent degree program.

The university’s graduate program now has 619 students, showing a 42-percent increase in enrollment during the last three years, and the concurrent degree program jumped 92 percent in the same time period, now boasting 450 students, according to JBU data.

Meanwhile, undergraduate enrollment has been steady, with only modest annual increases. Traditional, degree-seeking students totaled 1,359 for the fall semester, up 0.4 percent from last year.

Crandall said the expansion of certain programs, including its MBA offerings and the addition of master’s degrees in higher education leadership and international community development leadership account for the bulk of the growth.

Participation in the MBA program has increased from 175 in 2007 to 247 this year.

Also, Crandall believes the school’s profile is growing.

“We are starting to get some traction and more name recognition,” he said. “We offer curriculum that teaches subjects like English and science through a Christian world view, and I think that appeals to a lot of people.”