Considering the devastating Souris River flood and the ongoing housing crunch in Minot, it's a positive sign that enrollment at Minot State University has stayed as strong as it has this school year.
Granted, MSU's enrollment dipped 7.3 percent for the spring semester compared to 2011, a decrease of 267 students. Student decreases came in transfer and graduate students, and students from Minot Air Force Base. Ward County enrollment dropped, but Canadian student numbers remain strong, as do students from Cass and Burleigh counties.
MSU officials point to strong numbers of applications and the steady enrollment of incoming freshmen as evidence that the university's recruiting and marketing efforts are paying dividends.
We're confident that as the city of Minot recovers from the effects of the Souris River flood, and the housing crunch eases as hundreds of new housing units are built, MSU's enrollment numbers will recover, too. The university has held its own during the worst disaster in the city's history, and we have no doubt that recovery and growth will be part of MSU's immediate and longterm future.