What a great month!
October has gone by in the blink of an eye! We had an incredible turnout for this month’s Family Day and Fall Admissions Open House, spirited participation with Team Winthrop at the Oct. 17 NAMIWalk, and I also heard great things from the U.S. Disc Golf Championship (including that Dr. Polly Ford ’48, our celebrated former PE department chair, spent her 99th birthday at the USDGC!). As we look to close out the month, here are some items I’d like to share with you:
2027-28 State Budget Request
We have started the state budget request process, and here’s a detailed breakdown
in priority order of our request: $2.5 million for tuition mitigation; $13 million
for an Economic Innovation Hub in Dinkins Hall and Crawford Building renovation; $5
million for deferred maintenance and capital renewal; $2 million for advanced manufacturing
engineering and academic programming; and $1 million for an internship and experiential
learning initiative. Thanks to our finance and business team for preparing our request,
and I’ll keep you updated as we make our way through the process.
Final Enrollment Numbers
I am excited to share that our official Fall 2026 Census was captured on Oct. 5, and we ended with 5,500 total enrolled students, a milestone last achieved in fall 2020. This represents a 4% increase (+212 students) over Fall 2025 and is a wonderful accomplishment for Winthrop! Read the full release here. While we have much to celebrate this year, I also want to highlight the progress we have made over the past several years. Our enrollment numbers tell a story of continued growth and the collective efforts of so many across campus.
Total Enrollment: 5,500 students, an increase of 212 students (+4%) over Fall 2025.
Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,485 students, an increase of 196 students (+4.6%).
Graduate Enrollment: 1,015 students, an increase of 17 students (+1.7%).
Three-Year Enrollment Growth: Since Fall 2023, our total enrollment has increased by 806 students (+17.2%).
Five-Year Enrollment Growth: Since Fall 2021, our total enrollment has increased by 326 students (+6.3%).
Credit Hour Production for Fall 2026: 66,366 credit hours, an increase of 1,721 (+2.7%) over Fall 2025 and nearly 9,000 more credit hours than Fall 2023.
These numbers reflect continued momentum for Winthrop and the important work happening across our university. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in getting these students to campus, but a special shout-out goes to Amanda James, vice president for enrollment management and marketing, and the entire admissions team for their hard work in leading this effort. Amanda also told me that she and her team released their first round of Fall 2027 freshman admission decisions earlier this month. That included 2,181 freshman admits, which is 128 more than last year and 714 more than 2025. Again, very positive and encouraging news for our Fall 2027 class!
Q&A
We’re now on our fourth set of Q&As that provide more insight on hot topics. Past topics have covered the Business Center, enrollment and our dual enrollment program. You may read past editions here. This month’s Q&A is with Mikaela Sites, director of Club Sports. As you may know, one of our phase 2 strategic plan initiatives was to hire a director of Club Sports and develop a comprehensive Club Sports strategy to promote enrollment growth, enhance the student experience and strengthen Winthrop’s regional and national brand visibility. Thank you, Mikaela, for taking the time to answer some questions about our growing Club Sports program. Read the Q&As here.
Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon
For a second straight season, the men’s basketball team is a part of the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. The team will kick off its season on Monday, Nov. 2, at 9 a.m. against Queens. The game will again be played at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center near downtown Rock Hill. Six games will tip off at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center (the first starts at midnight!) See the full schedule here. Watch the Daily Digest for ticket details. The game also will be broadcast on The Field of 68’s YouTube Channel and X feed. Go, Eagles!
Fresh Check Day
Winthrop will hold its Fresh Check Day on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in
McBryde Hall. Fresh Check Day, the signature program of the Jordan Porco Foundation,
is an uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event that is designed
to “check in” on the mental health of our campus community members. The free event
will offer interactive booths. I encourage you to stop by as well as promote the event
to students.
Halloween
I hope you’ve come up with your Halloween costume idea! If not, there’s still time
to put something together for Friday, Oct. 30. There’s a lot of Halloween and fall
events coming up, so to keep from excluding any by listing them here, I encourage
you to read the Daily Digest where a lot of these events are promoted each morning.
Nov. 9-14 Homecoming and Reunion Week
Lauren, the girls and I are looking forward to attending next month’s Homecoming and
Reunion activities, and I hope you are as well. Please visit the Homecoming website to see the full schedule of events. If you plan to tailgate on Nov. 14 ahead of the
men’s and women’s basketball games, please check out tailgating information online and purchase your spot by Nov. 1 if needed. You can also read about the five alumni award winners who will be recognized during the week’s festivities. Let’s get ready to have a great
time!
As always, thank you for everything that you do for Winthrop. Please know that your contributions matter.
Edward
Edward A. Serna
