Augustana University welcomes the largest first-year student class it's had since 1970
More than 550 full-time undergraduate students make up this year’s incoming class at Augustana University.
It’s the second-largest class in history, surpassed only by 594 freshmen in 1970. And it’s the first time in the 2000s that the freshman headcount is more than 481 students large.
The historic freshmen class size also includes 72 first-year international students, a new record for the university, which will be home to as many as 200 transfer, exchange and continuing international students from 48 countries this fall.
Last year held the previous record for the number of first-year international students at Augustana, when the university welcomed 135 international students, 42 of whom were first-year students.
2022 marks the 10th time in the university’s history that the freshman class has more than 500 students. The nine other times include the following:
1970 — 594 students
1974 — 539 students
1978 — 527 students
1965 — 523 students
1969 — 514 students
1967 — 512 students
1975 — 507 students
1976 — 501 students
1973 — 500 students
‘The million-dollar question’
What led to Augustana University’s large freshman class this year?
“That’s always the million dollar question,” vice president for enrollment Adam Heinitz told the Argus Leader. “When you have a strong year like this, you have a variety of different factors: the transformation that’s taking place on campus in terms of facilities, the excitement of new athletic programs, new academic programs, and reaching out to more students in the region.”
Heinitz pointed to recent renovations on campus, including at Bergsaker Hall on 33rd Street, where hundreds of first-year students moved into their dorm rooms on Saturday.
To the south of that dorm is the future site of the Midco Hockey Arena, and just north of Bergsaker, Ralph H. Wagoner Hall has begun to take shape. There will be a ribbon-cutting for the new dorm in September.
More: Augustana University breaks ground on $50 million housing project
New athletic programs starting this year include acrobatics and tumbling, with hockey and women’s lacrosse to be offered in the future, Heinitz said.
New academic programs are also planned to kick off this year and in the future: a minor in brewing and fermentation, a master's of science in nursing, a bachelor's in social work by 2024 and a master's in social work by 2027.
Marketing to more students in the region and the U.S. as a whole have helped with the larger enrollment, too, Heinitz said, noting it was a “really strong year in Minnesota.”
Outside of the U.S., too, marketing has helped garner more interest from the international student populations.
“With international students, you kind of develop traction in certain parts of the world,” Heinitz said. “Augustana has a strong representation from countries like Ethiopia, and most recently Nepal. You build a sense of Augie community there with word of mouth and excitement.”
More: Augustana University plans to relocate 4 historic buildings to make space for hockey arena
The growth, excitement and innovation in Sioux Falls makes students excited to come to this area, too, Heinitz added.
“They’re recognizing Sioux Falls as a progressive city with unlimited opportunities for internships and experiences outside the classroom,” he said. “It’s a fun city to be a college student in. Sioux Falls is finding itself on the map a little bit more. It bodes well for us into the future.”
College is ‘the next step in life’
Students wearing Viking helmets, smiles and Augustana T-shirts blasted pop music from speakers outside Bergsaker Hall while helping incoming first-year students unload their vehicles and load up wheeled carts with all the essentials they’d need for their first year in college on Saturday morning.
At the top of each hour, more and more vehicles full of freshmen, family members and furniture rolled up to the dorm for the final big move before classes start Wednesday, Aug. 31.
Norah Schumacher and her family came all the way from Golden, Colorado to move her into the dorm. Schumacher is pursuing an exercise science major and will be part of the tumbling team.
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The large freshman class “is good because it’s not as small as it has been, and it’s good that it’s a good size this year,” she said, noting she chose Augie because she likes it here in Sioux Falls.
Carson McKellep is coming to Augie from Brandon to pursue a pre-physical therapy major.
“It’s as far or as close from home as I want it to be,” he said of the “welcoming” campus just one city away from home. He’s looking forward to making new friends and taking it all in, he added.
Mikennah Oleson crossed the state from Hill City to attend Augie for an English education major. She said she loves the location, and it feels different than a South Dakota college.
“I’m excited about (the large freshman class); it’s kind of insane,” Oleson said, adding she’s excited for the freedom of college because she can “figure out who I am as a person.”
More: Augustana University to add men's Division I hockey team
J.D. Hennen, a biology pre-medical major from Alexandria, Minnesota, said he came to Augie to play on the baseball team.
“It’s a good Division II team, academic-wise,” he said, noting he looks forward to meeting friends, starting his classes and taking “the next step in life.”
Hennen considers college a “fresh start.”
“It’s exciting that a lot of people want to come here,” he added, pointing to the large freshman class.
Fellow Minnesotan Ellary Lange from Willmar decided to come to Augie for a business major since both of her parents also attended the university. She said she looks forward to joining intramural sports like soccer, basketball and volleyball.
“I’m nervous, but excited to meet new people,” Lange said.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Augustana University welcomes Class of 2026 on move-in day
