An ad hoc division of the Enrollment Committee will issue a report at the end of the term with recommendations for ways to reduce enrollment and overcrowding in the Fall term.
"It is going to be a number of different things that are causing the problem," said Sheila Culbert, a member of the ad hoc committee.
The committee has met four to five times to discuss what academic and social factors contribute to the popularity of being on campus during the Fall term.
"We are looking at what courses and majors have a lot of students in the fall," said Thomas Bickel, College Registrar and chair of the ad hoc committee. "More people are science majors than three years ago, and science classes may be particularly sequential in the fall term."
In previous years, less than 50 percent of the junior class has been enrolled for the fall term. This year, more than 60 percent of the 96s are enrolled, Bickel said.
The number of students participating in off campus programs is also down from 210 to 150, according to Bickel.
Fall term social opportunities like Greek rush and Homecoming may also prompt some students to stay on in the fall.
"One conjecture is that things are more popular on campus in the fall," said Bickel. "Three years ago, rush was in the winter, and before that, it was in freshman spring," he said.
Bickel also said that housing sales in the Hanover area are better, resulting in fewer off-campus rental opportunities for students.
The committee will give a report to the Enrollment Committee by the end of the term. Dean of Faculty James Wright, who heads the Enrollment Committee, said that there will be "faculty discussions, ample student input, and administrative detail," after the report is issued.
The ad hoc committee was charged by with determining causes for the increased Fall term enrollment and ways of spreading this demand over the other terms.
It was also asked to examine the possible criteria the College could use if it decided to restrict enrollment patterns.
"If voluntary efforts don't work, we might have to restrict student's D-plans or do housing priority," said Bickel. "As of now, no 97s can have an residence term in their D-Plan unless they already have one listed." The Class of 1997 chose their D-Plan enrollment patterns last spring.
In his letter to the committee, Wright said "maintaining the residential college and sustaining the quality of the intellectual experience have to take priority over flexibility and choice."
Wright said in an interview that he was "not comfortable" with D-Plan limitations, but said that we "could have a problem next fall."
Bickel said that about 68 percent of the 97s are registered for the fall 1995 term. This number does not include the 17 to 18 percent of students participating in off-campus programs.
