Cedarville reports record number of students for 13th straight year

Move-in is this weekend; classes start next week for private, Baptist university in Greene County.
During Getting Started Weekend at Cedarville University last year, the university welcomed nearly one thousand freshman students. Courtesy of Cedarville University.

Credit: Scott Huck

Credit: Scott Huck

During Getting Started Weekend at Cedarville University last year, the university welcomed nearly one thousand freshman students. Courtesy of Cedarville University.

A record number of students are expected to move into dorms at Cedarville University, with most of the 1,270 projected new students moving into campus residence halls this weekend.

This is the 13th consecutive year the university has projected a new high in enrollment, the university said.

Cedarville said it’s possible the enrollment would reach 5,000 students for the first time in university history, though the official enrollment census is released after Labor Day.

Most colleges wait that long to release official enrollment counts, as some students will drop out in that time span or may have said they would come to the campus but never signed up for classes, among other issues.

Fall Bible Conference begins Cedarville’s academic year on Monday. The first day of classes is Wednesday, Aug. 25. Cedarville is a private, Christian university affiliated with the Baptist Church.

Getting Started Weekend is Cedarville’s orientation program — incoming students’ first impression of Cedarville’s campus and student body, according to the university.

“The goal (of Getting Started) is for students to walk away saying, ‘I feel this is my place and I belong here. I feel at home,” said Brian Burns, director of campus experience.

Prior to COVID-19, Getting Started Weekend involved standing in long lines in the Doden Field House to get a room key, have an ID photo taken and other tasks.

Due to COVID-19, the process has been streamlined. Now, when students come to campus, the entire registration process is done electronically without new students leaving their cars.

When the student arrives at their residence hall, they are greeted by the university’s campus experience team, members of which take the students’ boxes and items to the residence hall room.

“Getting Started Weekend is all about students serving students to welcome them home and acclimate them to this new stage of life,” Burns said.

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