Russian Enrollments

[Don Dyer]

Dear Subscribers: We have seen a small drop in Russian enrollment here
at The University of Mississippi over the past three years. We have gone
from a high of over fifty students in first year in 1991 to around 30 this
year. Enrollment at the upper levels increased during this time and leveled
off. We teach two sections of first year, a second year class, a combined
third and fourth year class, and have a number of upper level students
working individually with a native speaker instructor. Here are this year's
enrollment figures: 1st: 29; 2nd: 15; 3rd: 12; 4th: 3. We have two exchange
programs with Russian universities and usually have two-three students
studying at them each semester. This semester, one of our students is in
Moscow and another in Nalchik. Generally we offer first year Russian during
the summer school sessions, which helps with fall enrollment in the second year
class. My feeling is that the key to building/holding Russian program
enrollments is having more than one first year class. But of course this
is hard to do with heavy teaching loads and limited faculty (often one
full-timer, as here). I have done *everything* I can here at The University
of Mississippi (total enrollment 11,000 students) to build and maintain
enrollment in the Russian program, but I don't like the enrollment trends
that are developing. All the students want to do is take Spanish.

Donald L. Dyer
Associate Professor
Russian Program