Syms Male Population Surpasses YC, Total Undergraduate Enrollment Down
For the current semester, the full-time male student population in the Sy Syms School of Business has surpassed that of Yeshiva College, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. As of Oct. 9, there are 524 full-time students enrolled in Syms and 476 in YC.
This is the third time in the past four semesters in which the majority of the undergraduate male population has been enrolled in Syms, with the first instance occurring in Spring 2017. YC briefly overtook Syms in Fall 2017 with 523 students compared to 517, but Syms reclaimed the majority in Spring 2018 with 511 to YC’s 473.
The data follows an eight-year trend of the Yeshiva College student body decreasing in size, with a high of 754 students at the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year. During this time, the large gap between the Syms and YC populations has dramatically closed, and for the first time at the beginning of an academic year, Syms maintains a majority.
The total full-time male population of YC and Syms combined has been on the decline since 2015, and there are 40 fewer students this year than there were in Fall 2017. With 1000 students, Fall 2018 marks the lowest total in at least the past 11 years. In Fall 2008, the earliest year of data available online, there were 1218 total students. Additionally, 35 men are enrolled in the Katz School Associate program this year.
Furthermore, the combined Stern College for Women and Syms-Beren full-time female population has decreased from Fall 2017 to Fall 2018, ending a trend of growth that began from Fall 2016 to Fall 2017. This fall, there are 801 full-time SCW students, exactly the same amount as last year, while enrollment in Syms-Beren shrunk from 169 to 163 students. There are also 17 women pursuing associate degrees at the Katz School.
Regarding male Undergraduate Torah Studies (UTS), the population of the Stone Beit Midrash Program (SBMP) rose from 239 students to 262 from last fall and from 22 percent to 24 percent of the total UTS programs. SBMP is now the second-largest morning program, overtaking Isaac Breuer College (IBC) which decreased from 241 to 214 students from Fall 2017 to Fall 2018. Enrollment in the Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP) has decreased from 492 students to 462 within the same time period and dropped from composing 44 percent of all morning programs to 43 percent. The decrease in MYP continues a trend of decline over the past 10 years, in both total number and percentage of all programs. The population of the James Striar School (JSS) rose from 136 students to 141 students since last fall.
Photo Credits: The Commentator
