Mizzou enrollment falls to lowest level since 2008

Amid ongoing fallout from the protests that rocked campus in 2015, the University of Missouri recently welcomed its smallest student body since 2008.

As Campus Reform has repeatedly reported, the embattled university has taken hit after hit, starting with a $32 million budget shortfall and a five-percent budget cut, followed by a seven-percent drop in freshmen enrollment heading into last school year.

[RELATED: Mizzou short on cash and desperate for students after semester of protests]

More recently, Mizzou shuttered seven residence halls due to a drastic drop in enrollment, renting some of the vacant rooms out to sports fans to help make up for the school’s many financial woes, and cut 474 jobs.

Now, The Dothan Eagle reports that the university is facing the lowest levels of enrollment since 2008, with official numbers showing that enrollment is down 12.9 percent.

[RELATED: Mizzou curators vote to fire Melissa Click]

Additionally, the Eagle notes that, with the exception of the senior class, every incoming class is smaller than last year’s, and even international enrollment fell by 12.1 percent.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @AGockowski