BALTIMORE — In 2022, Morgan State University saw a spike in enrollment numbers like it had never seen before, and since then, each year the number continues to grow.
Enrollment in 2022 was around 8,000 students; this year, they have over 10,000 students enrolled in classes.
So the university is making some room for the growth in the number of new students.
“This is part of a very strategic vision for the university to accommodate as many students as we can with housing options," says Dell Jackson, Director of Public Relations for MSU.
The university had a new dorm, Legacy Hall, and renovated two of its dorms, Baldwin Hall and Cummings House, which is where Soraya Alvarez is moving in.
She says this is her freshman year, and she is excited to be at an HBCU.
“I see the new environment; I see how clean it is. I see how I have my own bathroom with my other peers. I feel very relieved and I feel very strong, and I guess I have a good feeling that it’s going to be a good year this year," says Soraya Alvarez.
She says she was glad to hear students have more housing options and won’t have to stay in hotels.
“I feel like a change is coming that the students who are moving, and they have great things coming their way," says Alvarez.
Dell Jackson with the university is also excited, but his excitement comes from the continued growth of the university.
“On average, we’ve gained seven to nine percent increases over a year. This year, we’re gonna as I mentioned, hit that 10,000 to 10,400 mark when we’re able to say that we can house nearly 50% of our entire enrollment; that's a feat," says Jackson.
It's not just new beds, but new amenities, including new gyms, laundry rooms, and wellness spaces, for students to improve their mental health.
“We believe that it helps for the wholeness of the college experience. not just the academics, but the social interaction and the experience that one can only get from an HBCU," says Dell Jackson.
While there are new and renovated dorms on the campus, the university still has options for living off campus.
Jackson says about 20% of students enrolled live in off-campus housing.
