VALDOSTA – While there have been plenty of hits from COVID-19, Valdosta State University has experienced a surprising rise in enrollment numbers amid the pandemic.

According to numbers sent from the university, the 2020 freshmen class has 2,687 students, up from the 1,587 students in the 2019 freshmen class.

VSU hasn’t recorded more than 2,500 freshmen in a decade. The 2010 class had 2,565 freshmen.

Overall, 2020 enrollment numbers are more than 12,300 which is the first time enrollment has been more than 12,000 since 2012.

While the bulk of the fall 2020 students are from the United States, according to a headcount provided by VSU, more than 250 students are from other countries, showcasing the appeal of the campus on a global scale, university officials said.

Students returned to Valdosta State University’s campus Aug. 18 with updated mask and social distancing requirements issued by the University System of Georgia.

When so many other institutions and businesses are seeing a decline, Valdosta State University faculty feel many factors contributed to the uptick in numbers.

Ryan Hogan, director of admissions, said it’s more than students just receiving an acceptance letter; it’s about making them feel accepted.

Each new applicant is assigned an admissions counselor and, as a VSU alum himself, Hogan wants to carry on the feeling of family he felt when he was a student.

Personal connections go hand-in-hand with the welcoming atmosphere of the campus and the more “hands-on” approach of classes that Hogan feels continues to make VSU a top pick for students from across the country and across the globe.

As Hogan stated, advising teams worked “morning, noon and night” all summer to ensure they were ready to accommodate students for this extraordinary school year.

Of course, getting new students is one thing and retaining them is a whole other ball game, one that Dr. Rodney Carr, vice president for student success, and Rob Freidhoff, interim associate for vice president for student success, know well.

During the past two years, they’ve seen a 9% rise in the retention rate, bringing it to just above 74% this year.

Carr said through the school’s originally crafted retention plan and concierge services, students are given all the tools needed to continue and finish their collegiate journey at Valdosta State University.

Tasks that can usually be overly complicated for students are simplified by making sure students are sent to the right people at the right time in regards to such complicated, and common, matters as financial aid.

Valdosta State University finds itself against heavy hitters in the college world and, Freidhoff said, it’s a mix of the campus’ appeal and high-quality academics that brings students to the university and keeps them there.

“We do everything we can to make people feel welcome here,” Freidhoff said. “We are small enough to know you by name but big enough to offer everything you want. When you call one of our departments, there’s a real person on the other end of the phone.”

Students have their own reasons for choosing VSU.

Melissa Wolfe serves as Valdosta State University student body president and chatted with her peers about what brought them to campus.

“The top reasons I’ve heard are that students wanted to stay closer to home due to all the uncertainty colleges and universities were/are facing due to COVID-19; students felt more confident in pursuing a college degree after the ACT/SAT was waived, and because we accept out of state tuition waivers for border state students,” Wolfe said.

She said the Office of Admissions effectively transitioned to virtual tours and used other communication tools which eased student anxieties.

“In what is notably a stressful time in many families’ lives, even without a pandemic, Valdosta State continued to reach out and provide a level of service that put minds at ease in a time of uncertainty,” Wolfe said. “The level of excitement I’ve seen from this incoming class is unlike any other. I think their desire to have as traditional a college experience as possible, comes from wanting to regain a sense of normalcy, and they realized they could find that feeling by becoming a part of Blazer Nation.”

Desiree Carver is a reporter at the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be reached at (229) 244-3400 ext. 1215.