MSU's campus is busier and louder as approximately 8,400 freshmen arrived Saturday to begin their lives as Spartans. They were joined by returning students on Monday for a total of more than 15,000 students living on campus during the 2018-2019 academic year.
This year’s incoming class is MSU’s largest and most diverse, with enrollment up for African-American, Hispanic and Asian students. More than 76 percent of the new students are from Michigan.
MSU reminds motorists to be aware of road closures due to construction projects near the College of Music, Akers and Hubbard halls and the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. For more details on navigating construction, visit the detour map and wayfinding tool.
Many events were scheduled through the week to welcome students back to campus. Highlights included:
- One Book One Community presentation, featuring the author of “My Beloved World,” Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor
- Fall Convocation at Breslin Student Events Center
- 38th annual UFest at the MSU Union
- Fall Welcome Spartan Spectacular and Sparticipation
- College colloquiums
- Fill the Bus service project
Fall 2018 notables:
- All student residence hall rooms now offer fully-enabled Wi-Fi service. RHS and MSU IT finished installing equipment this summer in more than 4,000 rooms to provide consistent wireless service without the need for students to purchase their own routers.
- For the 2018-19 academic year, all CATA bus rides on campus will be free for students and MSU employees. Free service begins Aug. 27 and will run on a trial basis for one year.
- MSU’s main website, msu.edu, has been redesigned for better usability and navigation.
- MSU’s College of Engineering is setting new enrollment benchmarks for the 2018-19 school year: the most women in the freshmen class, 383, and the most women undergraduates, more than 1,300. They are part of the largest and most diverse group of undergraduates ever enrolled in the college.
- MSU continues its commitment to fostering a culture of safety and respect. On the Our Commitment page, MSU outlines specific steps the university is taking to combat sexual assault, improve patient care and safety and protect youth on campus. The site includes project updates, links to university resources and stories on important work being done on campus.
- Construction updates:
- Construction started this summer on a 37,000-square-foot Music Pavilion that will expand the Music Building on the university’s north campus by more than 40 percent.
- MSU will break ground this fall for the new STEM Teaching and Learning Facility that includes an addition of 117,000 square feet and renovation of the former Shaw Lane Power Plant.
- Work continues on the Eli Broad College of Business Pavilion that will house undergraduate and graduate programs. Construction is expected to be complete by fall 2019.