For the seventh consecutive year, the enrollment at Iowa State has increased, this year breaking the enrollment record set only last fall.

With the enrollment projected to be approximately 32,000 students (official enrollment count will be taken on the tenth day of classes), Iowa State will surpass the record number of students set at 31,040 during the fall 2012 semester.

“The value of education here, the fantastic student experience, the economic value and the type of majors offered here are just a number of factors that support our increase,” said Tom Hill, senior vice president for Student Affairs. “It’s a great situation to have a demand for your product and the admission staff has done a great job of hitting the target population.”

University President Steven Leath believes interest is up in the university and that things like the 90 percent job placement average, increased sports exposure and the land-grant tradition are part of it.

With the record number of enrollment, a few items are being monitored by the university administration. One area Leath is keeping an eye on is the student experience.

“We created the Student Experience Enhancement Council a little while ago and they are looking at all aspects related to the experience: classrooms, seats on the CyRide buses, etc.,” Leath said.

“They are also working on a survey of students to see whether the experience has increased since we’ve grown. We’re thinking ahead so we don’t run into problems in the future, and we can get a handle on this and maintain the student experience.”

The university is currently looking at a new master plan for campus which they hope will help accommodate the high enrollment. In the new master plan, priorities and funding would be shifted to the areas most demanded to alleviate the stress there; one example of this is building new lecture halls.

Spencer Hughes, president of the Government of the Student Body, believes that preserving the ISU experience for students is of the utmost importance. Hughes also thinks the university has taken the best steps possible to prepare for the increased enrollment, but they still need to be prepared for the possibility of continued growth.

“The student experience could take a hit if we don’t do something to accommodate this growth,” said Hughes. “This issue needs to be constantly on our administration’s mind.”

The idea of capping the enrollment at Iowa State is something Leath said he would be reluctant to do. He said that doing so would cease the Iowa State tradition of accepting all qualifying students, especially students from the state of Iowa.

“I would rather squeeze a little bit and deal with the growing pains than close the door on students,” Leath said.

Along with the increased enrollment in the past couple of years, Iowa State has seen its funding increased to them from the state of Iowa and, during Leath’s tenure, 140 new faculty members have been hired.

“Our enrollment is sending out a good, positive message, and we are showing the state of Iowa that we are being true to our land grant message and are doing what we promised to do,” Hill said.