Louisiana university sets enrollment record despite pandemic

NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP) — A 136-year-old Louisiana university has set an enrollment record in spite of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused problems in higher education nationwide.

The record “is remarkable and especially gratifying in the midst of the global pandemic,” Northwestern State University President Chris Maggio told The Times of Shreveport.

According to the newspaper, the school this fall has an enrollment of 11,447. That’s an increase of 5% or 547 students over last year’s enrollment of 10,900.

In addition to the main campus in Natchitoches, Northwestern State has campuses in Shreveport and Alexandria and other sites which include online classes.

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This story was first published on Sept. 18, 2020. It was updated on Sept. 22, 2020, to remove quotes and statistics that were erroneously used from an outdated 2017 press release.