Henderson posts Spring ‘24 headcount

After graduating 237 students in December, Henderson State University retained most of its students for the Spring 2024 semester.

The university reports 1,893 students at the start of spring, according to the school’s latest census report. Henderson started the fall semester with 2,139 students. 

It is common for universities to report lower enrollment each spring, explained Dr. Trey Berry, Henderson’s chancellor.

Henderson retained all but nine students after the Fall 2023 graduation, Berry explained. For comparison, 70 students did not return to campus following the previous year’s graduation.

Still, fall enrollment has been on a steady decline in recent years. Berry hopes to change that. 

“One of the things we’re doing now is changing the focus of our recruitment,” he told arkadelphian.com in a telephone interview. “We’re making recruitment more personal.” For example, hand-written notes are sent to every potential student who applies or tours campus. Henderson’s recruiters are also putting in the necessary legwork at regional high schools to spark relationships with potential students through personal interactions. More personal phone calls are being made, as well.

And who doesn’t love a free T-shirt? Recruiters are handing them out left and right to those high schoolers. Students wearing HSU shirts are walking billboards for the college, he said.

Berry said the tactic has already shown promise. “Last week we had the largest Reddie Day crowd we have had since 2019,” he said, “so I hope that’s a good sign of how things are changing here. We’ve felt positivity on campus, and we’re going to build on that positivity.”