NORTH ADAMS - With enrollment numbers steadily increasing, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is getting closer to its goal of 2,010 students by 2010.
"We're very pleased with the class we brought in and the number of students we have enrolled. It's going to be a great year," said Denise Richardello, the college's vice president of enrollment and external affairs.
MCLA saw a 7 percent increase in enrollment this year, bringing the total undergraduate population to 1,554 students - exactly 100 more students than the college welcomed last year. Of that number, 342 are incoming freshman, up over the 304 students in their first year in 2006.
Richardello said 17 states were represented among the MCLA population but the majority of students (75 percent) came from within the commonwealth. The remaining 25 percent is mainly composed of New York, Vermont and Connecticut residents, but some students came to the Berkshires from Texas, South Carolina and the state of Washington.
"The Internet is the wave of the future. It's how they're finding us now and we have to reach out to students from across the country," Richardello said.
Including graduate students, the college now has 1,835 matriculated students enrolled with 941 residing in on-campus housing, the highest number of resident students since 1991.
To accommodate the growing number of students, MCLA reopened the A Tower of the Berkshire Towers dormitory this year following the completed renovation of Murdock Hall. The tower had been used as office space. Richardello said she does not foresee any housing issues for the upcoming school year as a result of overpopulation.
"Certainly, there are going to be challenges as the interest level continues to increase at MCLA. In the short term, we're able to accommodate them and, as the year goes on, we'll make decisions about what to do in the future," she said.
The Breakdown
As in years past, the English/communications program is the largest draw for the college, topping the list of majors with 20 percent of the student population (307 students) enrolled in that curriculum.
"English/communications has been growing over the last 10 years. The strong communications department and the writing and literature concentrations are attractive to students," said Richardello.
The largest growing major, however, is the business administration program, which saw a 25 percent increase this year. Richardello said she attributed the growth to the development of the new "Fast Track" accelerated degree program, in which a business degree is one of the options.
Another popular choice at MCLA is the fine and performing arts major, which encompasses art, theater, music and arts management concentrations. Eight percent of students are enrolled in this program.
"FPA connects so well to the Berkshires, because we're so well known for our cultural amenities," said Richardello.
With retention also on the rise, Richardello said the college is looking forward to continued expansion.
"We're excited that the interest level in MCLA continues to increase," she said.
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