[1/15/03]Alcorn State University’s emphasis on more students in Vicksburg is working with interest tripled for the semester beginning this month.

“We did very well with enrollment this year,” said Alcorn president Dr. Clinton Bristow Jr.

He said 85 students signed up for 11 classes offered at Hinds Community College’s Vicksburg campus, compared with 25 in three classes last year. Classes began Monday.

The College Board approved the expansion last summer and funded advertising and other start-up costs. Bristow said the goal is to offer bachelor’s degrees through courses offered here by Hinds, Mississippi State University and Alcorn.

“We want to offer the citizens of Vicksburg a higher-education system where they can look forward to completing degrees in Vicksburg,” said Dr. Malvin Williams, Alcorn vice president for academic affairs.

Normally, 10 students must be enrolled in a course for it to be offered. However, Williams said, the rule was waived this semester.

“We don’t want to have five or six students enroll for a course and then say, Sorry, we’re not going to offer that class,'” he said. “We have relaxed the rules to a degree so people will see we’re serious about our commitment in Vicksburg.”

Bristow said reasons for the Lorman-based university adding courses at the Hinds campus on Mississippi 27 are the growth of Nissan-related industries at Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex, the expansion of River Region Health System and the growth of the hospitality and gaming industries. He said the university’s mission is to be the university of southwest, Mississippi and Vicksburg is a “strategic link” to the Delta, Natchez and Jackson in Mississippi and nearby Louisiana parishes.

Bristow said the university has received support from Vicksburg’s business and government communities.

“We will be a good neighbor and a good citizen to Vicksburg,” Bristow said. “We are enthused about this partnership.”

Talks between Alcorn officials and River Region officials last year about moving Alcorn classes into the former ParkView Regional Medical Center are in what Bristow called a “holding pattern.” He said the building off Grove Street is too large for the university’s needs, but he said discussions will continue.

For now, the agreement with Hinds suits the university’s needs well, he said.

“Their cooperation with us has been outstanding,” Bristow said.

Hilton Dyar, Hinds dean, said Alcorn is committed to the community and offering top-quality programs.

Williams called the enrollment figures an excellent first step for the university.

“The preliminary figures suggest the Vicksburg Warren County campus will grow faster than the Natchez campus,” he said.

The Natchez campus opened in 1979 and enrolls about 300 students each year. Alcorn’s School of Nursing and MBA program are in Natchez. Alcorn enrolls about 3,100 students each year, most on the Lorman campus about an hour southwest of Vicksburg.