SPP Exceeds Enrollment Expectations

With 300 new students this fall, enrollment in the School of Public Policy (SPP) grew by more than 16 percent from Fall 2003 to Fall 2004, according to statistics taken from the GMU Data Warehouse. This was the second largest rate of growth in the university.

SPP’s enrollment target also increased, according to Associate Dean Jim Finkelstein. “The university’s enrollment target for SPP was increased by nearly 40 percent this year, the highest such increase in the university. We not only met that target, but exceeded it,” Finkelstein said.

Moreover, SPP, which accounts for only about 2.2 percent of Mason’s total enrollment, contributed to about 15 percent of the university’s overall 4.5 percent enrollment target increase.

The statistics reflect upon SPP’s goal to attract more high-quality students, according to Finkelstein. “More than 700 potential students applied to SPP this past year compared to 545 last year,” he said. “That allowed us to become quite selective.”

He added, “We owe a real debt of thanks to the faculty and staff members who turned out for our information sessions last year. We know from talking with new students that having faculty at these events makes a real impression about faculty commitment.”