A month after announcing its return to a traditional campus environment this fall semester, the University of South Alabama (USA) is experiencing a surge in the number of applications to the school.
Interim Associate Vice President of Enrollment Dr. Salvadore Liberto told NBC 15 that admission applications at his school are up nearly 25 percent a few weeks before the start of the summer break.
The school administrator credited the surge to their new strategies, in addition to the lifting of SAT and ACT standardized test requirements this year.
“We do expect to grow again… Our strategies have shifted some as well. So, we think that we probably would have higher applications anyway, even if we hadn’t gone test-optional,” he explained.
Beginning last year, a growing number of universities in the country have decided to relax their admission requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts believe this has led some universities to see a surge in enrolment.
“We do think that that probably has increased our applications,” Liberto said. “Because that’s a very desirable benefit for a lot of students to bypass having to take the next especially during a pandemic.”
A few weeks ago, the University of South Alabama announced its return to in-person instruction in the fall semester.
President Tony Waldrop said they are assuming a continuing downtrend in coronavirus infections in the country due to the government’s vaccination efforts.
“Our collective efforts to maintain health and safety standards on campus, along with the local and state reduction in COVID-19 cases, allows us to plan to transition to more traditional operations this fall,” he stated.
“Courses that were moved fully or partially online due to the pandemic will shift back to in-person learning, assuming we continue to see improving trends in controlling the virus. Employees will continue to transition back to offices,” the president added