MUNCIE — Ball State president Geoffory Mearns said the university is making progress towards its goal of being the front door to Muncie and Delaware County.
Mearns told RTV6 the university’s enrollment level hit an all-time record with nearly 23,000 students at the school this year.
The freshman class has also seen explosive growth with 4,000 students, also the biggest in the school's 101-year history.
Ball State took over operation of the struggling Muncie Community School District at the start of last school year after years declines in school enrollment and money problems.
Now this year, enrollment has leveled out with less than a 1% decline, down from 14% over the Past five years.
Teachers are also seeing bigger numbers in their bank account after receiving a raise this summer, the first time in nine years.
"So, of course, that is improving the morale of the dedicated and talented teachers and staff in the Muncie Community Schools, the women and the men who stuck with the schools and the children through those difficult times,” Mearns said. “So it's bringing, in addition to those practical changes, it's bringing a sense of optimism and hope for the future into the schools, and I believe it is also bringing a sense of hope and optimism in the community more broadly."
