Growth

Some private universities in the Upstate say they are experiencing growth as students enroll for the fall semester. Anderson University has grown to be the largest private university by enrollment in South Carolina. Officials said more than 4,500 students are enrolled in classes for the fall semester. “We feel that comes with just an investment in our students. We talk about hospitality a lot here, and truly, how are we treating each other and people, and I think the students get a sense of that,” said William Monts, Anderson University’s associate vice president of enrollment management. Along with a new football team debuting this year, university officials said they have also celebrated two other milestones. Officials have opened a permanent home for the College of Engineering and STEM programs along North Main Street in Anderson. The school has launched an international graduate school. “We know that employers are going to expect students to know how to use and greatest latest technology and things like that,” Monts said. “Talking about AI, we’ve got different sessions for our students.”Ryan Ireland and Davidson Jones are both studying biology at Anderson University. Since their freshman year, they said they have noticed a difference with the number of people on campus. “It’s definitely grown a lot,” Ireland said. “There’s more people in the cafeteria all the time. There’s more people walking around. Even parking has, like, decreased in terms of how much parking spaces there are.”However, Anderson University is not the only private school that is seeing growth. North Greenville University officials said they have welcomed their largest enrollment of around 2,300 students since the pandemic this year. “The total student population allows us to foster those relationships at a more personal level that many students are looking for,” said Chad Peters, NGU’s vice president of enrollment management. It’s that size that Jones and Ireland have said is important to them. “It was like the close family aspect that I got from the school because it’s, you know, smaller campus than other ones, and so, we just got a whole like group and like family environment that I feel here,” Jones said.AU officials said opportunities for more growth can be found in technology and STEM-related programs. “We continue to be selected as an Apple Distinguished School,” Monts said. “Apple is looking at how our institutions, implementing technology, are they thinking innovatively in their approach?”At the same time, Monts said the school wants to maintain the programs that the school is known for.