APSU reached a historical landmark this semester. We now have over 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students, both part-time and full-time.
The editorial board at The All State is both excited and concerned about this breakthrough at our university.
Due to our status as the fastest-growing university in Tennessee and our increased numbers, we have not had to suffer the severe budget cuts much larger schools have. We feel currently, as a middle-grade small school, we have just enough to support ourselves.
Our size is also appealing to potential students. We are not too small, but not too large. One staff member said she was glad to see everywhere you go on campus, you can see someone you know, but at the same time you will see someone you don’t know yet. It seems to give the campus a good balance.
Some are concerned that parking, living accommodations, funds and building space will suffer with the increased enrollment. However, these figures can be deceptive. APSU does not exist solely on campus. We have students that attend at Fort Campbell and many only take online and hybrid classes.
Our numbers also fluctuate based on deployments, since we are a military town with many military and nontraditional students. Many APSU students may never have to set foot on the main campus. This means that these changes are in a way more technical than purely physical. Our numbers and programs can potentially attract students who do not wish to attend an exclusively on-campus school.
We are also concerned our increased size will lead to over-compensation. If we build too many dormitories, add too much extra parking or build too many new facilities, we could end up with wasted space. We feel it is sometimes better to have just enough than too much.
If we continue to grow at such a fast rate, we may have to take action to control our size. APSU may need to eventually change its admissions requirements so as not to become overcrowded.
We feel overexpansion is also a concern. We are a predominantly military town, not a college town.
APSU’s campus is already located in a very congested area, and spreading the campus throughout the city does not seem practical for our school.
We are growing into our space, and we feel for now we are in a very comfortable position with our numbers.
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