Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
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    Date: 9/11/97
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  105

SLU OFFICIAL FALL ENROLLMENT TOPS 15,000 MILESTONE
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Fall enrollment officially totals
15,330, topping the 15,000 marked for the first time in the university's almost 75-year history.
     Fall 1997 enrollment represents a more than five percent increase over Fall 1996's 14,592 
students.  Enrollment figures became official on Friday, Sept. 12.
     Southeastern celebrated the 15,000-plus milestone with a spirit rally, giant cake and
special banners at the War Memorial Student Union Thursday afternoon.
     Southeastern's enrollment has grown approximately 80 percent over the past decade. The
university first exceeded  the 10,000-student mark in fall 1990, with 10,398 students.  Thirty
years ago, Southeastern was touting a record-breaking fall 1966 enrollment of 5,137 and had
experienced a more than 200 percent enrollment increase from 1956-66.
     Southeastern's official fall 1997 enrollment profile shows that St. Tammany Parish is
homebase for the largest number of Southeastern students -- 1,657 undergraduates and 357
graduate students. Next is East Baton Rouge Parish with 2,705 undergraduates and 267 students
in graduate school. Tangipahoa Parish 
     
                                 -SLU-