The official fall enrollment numbers have been received. This fall SAGU surpassed previous enrollment numbers by more than 50 students, achieving an enrollment of 1,891 students. Last fall SAGU saw an enrollment of 1,832. More notably, this year’s enrollment shows an increase of 188 students or 11% since 2004.

Parsing the enrollment numbers shows several areas where the university has seen a surge. First, SAGU had an 11% increase in distance education since last year. Additionally, there was an increase of 12% in graduate distance education.

Another area of increase was in the area of discipleship ministries. This program works with discipleship programs such as Master’s Commission and Teen Life Challenge to provide accredited learning while students are also active in their respective discipleship programs. In particular, SAGU’s partnership with The Oaks Fellowship has made an impact. Their program surged from 71 last fall to 91 this fall.

The Master’s Commission group from the Oaks is housed on campus. When Collins Hall was vacated with the opening of Teeter and Bridges Halls, space in Collins was repurposed to house their program.

University leadership expects that the upward enrollment trend will continue into 2009 with the continued introduction of new programs. As of fall 2008, SAGU has introduced 13 new programs in a span of just four years. This fall they launched two more—the Executive Master of Strategic Leadership and the RN to BSN. Meanwhile, plans are underway for several additional bachelor’s and master’s programs.