Record enrollment put such a strain on Northern Kentucky University this semester that it added scores of classes and closed registration early.

        “Everything on that sheet is a record,” said Gregory Stewart, associate vice president for enrollment management, as he pointed to Aug. 31 figures in a recent interview.

        Dr. Stewart said the record number of students is being accommodated by adding classes in the afternoons and on Saturdays and, in many cases, hiring adjuncts to teach.

        Here's what the numbers showed:

        • First-time freshmen enrollment is 1,912, an increase of 106 over the previous record last year.

        • Total freshmen enrollment — including transfers and returning students — is 4,084, compared to the previous record of 4,024 in 1999.

        • Total undergraduate enrollment is 11,554; last year's record was 10,991.

        • African-American students increased from 453 last year to a record 556.

        Dr. Stewart said major factors in enrollment are retention and getting those who dropped out to come back.

        Retention is vital, Dr. Stewart said, so every undergraduate registered in spring 2001 was the target of a personal campaign to get him back this fall:

        • NKU sent postcards and called every student.

        • Departments in which students were majoring wrote letters urging them to persist. If they had financial problems, NKU looked for solutions.

        This so absorbed staff that “in some cases, they didn't do anything else,” Dr. Stewart said. “We thought it was that important.”

        Although numbers are incomplete, other NKU efforts also contributed to growth.

        For the first time, NKU offered in-state tuition and scholarships to non-residents who transferred as juniors or seniors. Initially, NKU expected about 50 applicants and hoped for 100.

        Tuesday, Dr. Stewart said more than 100 have enrolled, filling places in upper division undergraduate programs.

        NKU also is adding students in classes away from its Highland Heights campus. Some are taught in workplaces, as with DHL Worldwide Express at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, or high schools or community college.

        These programs also can involve tuition breaks, either for non-residents working in Kentucky or Kentucky high school students taking NKU courses for graduation and college credit.

        NKU also has initiated a “last dollar” program aimed at needy Ohio students as part of its effort to bring in more African-Americans. However, Dr. Stewart said, even the $2,000 scholarships “may not be enough” for the neediest cases and NKU is looking for other answers.

        Meanwhile, so many classes were filling that Dr. Stewart closed first-time enrollment Aug. 1.

        About 200 prospective students were asked to come back and register in January when scores of fall semester undergraduates won't return.

        The space situation won't ease any time soon because he's continuing to recruit and the Natural Science Center, one of the oldest buildings on campus, will close in 2003 for refurbishing.

        By then, the new Natural Science Building will be open, but with little gain in classroom space until both facilities can be occupied.

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