Northern sees enrollment increase

Montana State University-Northern has begun the spring semester with 25 more students than it had last spring.

Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel announced the increase at an MSU dean-level meeting Feb. 3 in Bozeman.

Numbers provided by Northern show 1,190 full-time equivalent students enrolled, compared to 1,172 the previous spring semester.

Northern started the Fall 2015 semester with 1,234 students. Typically, Northern has had a larger student population during fall semesters than in the following spring semesters.

Jim Potter, director of media relations at Northern, said the seven student disparity between the number offered by Kiegel and that by the school was the result of students who either dropped out or were unable to make payments.

The final numbers, Potter said, were from Feb. 3.

In an interview Friday, Kegel said the university has had increased success with incoming freshmen, but retaining those students, keeping them at the college once they come, is often where the challenge lies.

"There are literally thousands of reasons why a student might not come back the next semester," Kegel said. "Some of them are things you can control, and some of them are things we can't control."

Kegel said the upward bump in the student population has to do with Northern's retention rate, which he credits to an environment which is more personable and receptive to the needs of students as it relates to financial aid, tutoring, instruction and approachability.

"When a student walks up to you, I ask every single person who works in an assistant role, that if a student walks up and asks you a question, that you just don't answer them, that you go down the hall, that you literally stand up and walk with them down the hall," Kegel said.

Kegel said he aims to get the number of students up to 1,500, a number where Northern will better be able to sustain itself.

He said he hopes to increase the number of Native American students from 12-15 percent to 25 percent.