By ANDREW T. MOHLMAN
mohlman@du2.byu.edu
BYU students and staff may be feeling cramped as an increasing number of students are allowed to study on the Provo campus.
Full-time day enrollment for Fall Semester 1998 totaled 32,202, nearly 3,000 more than BYU's enrollment cap of 29,000.
'The goal of the university is to serve as many students as possible, here and elsewhere,' said Jeff Tanner, associate dean of BYU admissions and records. 'Any time that we can find a way to maximize the number of students that can study on campus, we go for it.'
Tanner said the actual enrollment is above the university's limit of 29,000 because university officials have to estimate, with some difficulty, how many students will graduate, discontinue or become ill. Sometimes the number of returning students exceeds the cap.
'We have to be like the airlines -- we overbook,' Tanner said.
In 1997, President Merrill J. Bateman announced BYU's goal to raise the cap from 27,000, set in the early 1980's, to 29,000 by 2001 -- a decision made by the Board of Trustees.
In the press release about the new limit, President Bateman said, 'The aim is to meet increased demand by giving more students access to studies at BYU without expanding the campus or adding new buildings. This modest, four-stage increase will be accomplished primarily by making fuller use of existing facilities.'
Lyndsey Averett, BYU Bookstore accountant, commented on the increased enrollment cap.
'I think it's probably a great idea. A lot more people will enjoy the BYU experience here and receive a fine education,' he said.
Brigham Young Academy, established in 1875, registered 29 students for the first official semester. In 1903, when it was upgraded to a university, 64 students were on the record, according to statistics provided by the Office of Institutional Analysis.
In 1946, enrollment jumped from 1,811 to 4,366 as a result of servicemen that returned from World War II. Enrollment broke the 10,000 mark in 1959, and then 20,000 by 1966. Not until 1989 did the full-time day enrollment reach 30,000.
As the latest effort to accommodate more BYU-bound students, President Bateman announced a cut in overall credits needed to graduate from BYU from 128 to 120.
The university estimates that somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of BYU's graduates could finish one semester earlier as a result of this plan, according to the press release.