The entire nation is currently looking at an increase in students entering college, due to another surge from a “Baby Boom.”
    Appalachian State, along with universities nationwide, is dealing with changes that come with increased student numbers. North Carolina alone is estimating over 100,000 students entering four-year institutions over an eight-year stint.
    Appalachian is growing again, and the questions arise. Can we handle it? What will the affect of these changes be on the nature and character of Appalachian as we know it?
    When student numbers grow, areas such as class size are affected. More students will mean a need for: a) more class sections and faculty or b) placing additional students in existing classes, making class sizes larger.
    With the state of North Carolina in a hiring freeze due to ongoing economic problems, the probability for new faculty is slim-to-none.
    Administrators are looking for additional faculty resources to handle the student body proliferation without increasing class sizes. One solution in the works includes a learning alliance with 11 community colleges, allowing students off campus to gain a degree through Appalachian.
    Additional faculty resources come at price. Money to cover this cost is to be appropriated by the general assembly, which cannot appropriate money the state does not have.
    What if the money is unavailable? Class sizes will have to grow.
    This is not to say Appalachian is incapable of expansion. As a matter of fact, Appalachian has a history of growth.
    In 1899, Appalachian was founded as Watauga Academy. It evolved into a state teachers’ college and then broadened to include liberal arts and acquire a regional university status. In 1971, Appalachian became part of The University of North Carolina System.
    But how much more growth can we afford?
    One option would be admitting a smaller percentage of students in order to keep classes smaller. To admit a lower percentage of applicants, admissions must become more selective. Selectivity, however, will equal higher tuition prices.
    Appalachian prides itself on its small class sizes. This point is brought up several times during orientation and when introducing prospective students. Many people consider the smaller class sizes, which you cannot find at larger universities, part of Appalachian’s character. If the student population continues to swell and the budget continues to contract, class sizes will be forced into growth, and that characteristic of Appalachian will change.
    We face the challenge in the future of accommodating more students, and this challenge may include eliminating one of Appalachian’s most attractive features. However, perhaps a greater and essential part of the challenge is redefining the temporal characteristics of Appalachian while preserving its true and timeless nature.