Brigham Young University will raise its enrollment cap by 2,000 students over the next four years.
Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the Seventy and president of BYU has announced that by making better use of the college campus' current facilities, more students will be able to attend the university.The BYU enrollment cap has remained constant at 27,000 since 1976. However, recently the BYU Board of Trustees approved an initiative that will allow an additional 500 students per year to enroll - until enrollment reaches 29,000 by the 2001-2002 academic year.
"The aim is to meet increased demand by giving more students access to studies at BYU without expanding the campus or adding new buildings," said Pres. Bateman in a press release. "This modest, four-stage increase will be accomplished primarily by making fuller use of existing facilities."
The school plans to schedule more classes in the afternoon, a time when classroom space is currently underutilized.
An additional 100 faculty positions will be created on campus over the next four years to accommodate the increase in students. Office space for additional faculty will become available as several campus construction and remodeling projects are completed.
The plan is the latest in a series of steps BYU officials are taking to make fuller use of existing resources and shorten students' time to graduation, said Pres. Bateman. "This, in turn, enables more students to have the benefit of a BYU education," he said.
Alan Wilkins, BYU academic vice president, emphasized, however, that the change in the enrollment cap will not necessarily make it easier for students to get into BYU.
"We have so many well-qualified members of the Church who are interested in coming to BYU," he said. "We don't think this will lower significantly the grade point
averageT or ACT scores that would be required."
He said that for the fall 1996 semester 9,500 students applied. Of those about 6,800 were accepted. "There will now be a few more students who can get in and we are delighted about that," he added.
Brother Wilkins noted, however, that there will not be other enrollment increases. "For the foreseeable future," he said, "I think 29,000 is it."