The Overpopulation of Students
by Arin Dubiel
Slippery Rock University has hit a record high in student enrollment. 8,390 students are
enrolled at the university. There are 1,547 first-year students enrolled in 2024, a record high
since 2004(SRU official website). Slippery Rock University keeps going over the capacity of
students without fixing the issue of space and room for the students. The strain of having an
overabundant number of students around affects their well-being, how they live, the environment
around them, and their learning. Classrooms are overcrowded which makes it hard for students to
learn and professors to teach. Slippery Rock University needs to stop enrolling students over its
capacity or shrink the classroom sizes.
The increase of first-year students each year at Slippery Rock University creates many
challenges including overcrowded classrooms. According to Slippery Rock’s official website,
the first-year class has increased from twelve students last year to thirty-two students this year.
84% of first-year students from the Fall 2023 semester have returned this fall, the highest total on
record and well above the national average of 74% for four-year public institutions (SRU official
Website). The max capacity for classrooms with one door is fifty people, including the professor.
Many first-year classes were at max capacity at the beginning of Fall 2024 semester, many
classes still are full, even after students dropped out or changed classes. This situation puts a
strain on first-year students who do not know anyone in the classroom, it can be overstimulating
and stressful. First-year students are thrown into classrooms, which can be filled with fifty
students minimum depending on the classroom, and this can overwhelm them causing the
students to get burnt out quickly. It makes the students feel that they cannot speak up within the
classroom without being judged.
Overstimulation and cognitive overload can make it difficult for students to focus. In
overcrowded classrooms, students do not get individualized feedback and feel that they cannot
ask questions. It makes students feel isolated and unsupported, which increases the feelings of
frustration and leads to burnout. Burnout is a process of chronic stress that evolves if not
prevented and affects people psychologically (Influence of Resilience on Burnout Syndrome of
Faculty Professors, Chapter 1). When there is an overpopulation of students in classrooms, it
leads to significant burnout from the increasing academic pressure and creating a difficult
learning environment. Classrooms can be noisy and disruptive, making it difficult to concentrate
on lectures the professors are teaching. There are constant distractions that cause students to lose focus, causing frustration in learning. It becomes challenging for students to engage in
discussions, ask questions, and interact with the professors. This can lead students to feel bored,
frustrated, and disconnected in class. This makes it difficult for students to form connections
with their professors and peers. It creates a lack of support for those students which can lead to
isolation and estrangement.
Many students around campus agree that overcrowded classrooms impact the quality of
education and learning. I interviewed Caden, a student from Slippery Rock University. Caden is
an introvert. I asked him couple of questions, One of the questions I asked him was, “What
effects can overpopulation have on mental health, particularly in terms of stress, anxiety, and
burnout?” and he responded with “I think students that are introverts have a harder time because
what I have noticed is that every building is overcrowded. It stresses me out whenever I leave my
room because there are too many people in the hallways. It’s hard for me to focus on my classes
because they have so many people in them. Walking around campus is difficult too because
everywhere I go, there are crowds of people.” Caden’s perspective helps my argument that
having so many students around the campus can stress people out. Another question I asked him
was, “How might the lack of space and increased noise levels in crowded schools contribute to
student anxiety or discomfort?” Caden responded with, “For the dorm building I hear people
blast music and yell all night and I get less sleep because of it having less sleep can affect the
brain harshly causing anxiety and discomfort.” Filling the dorm rooms with two or three students
can be noisy, and if there are people they don’t care about other people in the buildings, it can
cause sleepless nights for other students. Rooms with 4 students can be noisier than others and
asking people to quiet down might not work. Instead of putting multiple students in a small
room, focus on the health and comfort of students.
Overpopulation does not just affect the first-year students, it affects other students as
well. I interviewed a sophomore named Olivia “Livvy” Bankosh. Livvy is an outgoing, social
sophomore. I asked her a couple questions, “Do you feel that overcrowded classrooms impact the
quality of education and learning? And do you feel disconnected in class?” According to Livvy,
“Yes, the crowded classes affect my focus on what is being taught. I can barely focus on
anything. I do get distracted and disconnected in class when there are too many people.” Filling
classrooms to max capacity makes it hard for anyone to learn. It makes some students lose
interest and want to disconnect themselves when there are too many people around. Another
question I asked, “Would overcrowding at SRU impact the behavior of students and the
consequence in the classroom?” Livvy was enthusiastic answering this question, “Oh my god,
yes, I am so upset about how many students are on campus it’s too much. Everywhere I turn,
there are people, and it gets stressful when I am trying to get my work done. I don’t want to sit in
my room but it’s the only way how I can focus on anything.” The last question I asked her was,
“How might the lack of space and increased noise levels in crowded schools contribute to
student anxiety or discomfort?” Her response was, “There’s not a whole lot of room to do things
and with overpopulation it becomes more difficult, and opportunities are taken away more often.
People come to schools like SRU because they know it’s spaced out and not overcrowded. It
becomes difficult to get involved in clubs because there are too many people joining them. It
feels like we are running out of space for everything.” The overpopulation of students does not
just affect first year students and Olivia Bankosh is the perfect example of that.
Slippery Rock University keeps going over the capacity without fixing the issue of space
and room for students. The overpopulation of students also affects their social and living
experiences. Many first-year students were placed into triple rooms/studios because there was
not enough room for students in dormitories. Triple rooms have negative impacts on students.
There is a lack of space, little to no privacy, and sleep disruption. I personally live in a double
studio with only one other person and still have these issues. Imagine having two other people
sharing a tiny room, a small bathroom, and one sink. If you are someone who likes privacy or
has issues with sleep, then these rooms are not for you and can cause severe harm to someone’s
anxieties about space. Students can ask for a single room but there is a small number of single
rooms and that makes it extremely difficult to get one.
The overcrowded rooms cause sickness to spread quicker, making it hard for some
students to stay in class. Sickness spreads in classrooms faster when there are more students in
the room. The overcrowded areas on campus, like the dining halls, classrooms, and dormitories,
risk becoming sick faster. Illnesses, especially influenza or other viruses, spread and can cause
challenges for students to stay in the classrooms. The official CDC website states, “Influenza
viruses can be detected in most infected persons beginning one day before symptoms develop
and up to five to seven days after becoming sick. People with flu are most contagious during the
first three days of their illness.” The CDC adds that, “Many experts think that influenza viruses
spread by droplets from coughing, sneezing, or talking when someone is sick with the flu.”
When one student is sick and goes to class, the majority of the students in the classroom end up
ill. I personally have a terrible immune system and get sick easily. Some days, I cannot come to
class because of a virus or bug I picked up in class. Staying away from the classroom can be
difficult because some professors are strict on attendance, which is a good thing but can hinder
students who get sick easily. In addition to spreading illnesses around, overcrowded classrooms
and dormitories cause safety problems if an emergency happens. Fifty people trying to run to one
door or dormitories where hundreds of people are trying to leave the building will cause harm
and problems.
Triple rooms are incredibly compact which can be cramped for three people to live in.
The lack of space usually leads to discomfort and increase noise. With three people living so
close together, sounds and noises are more likely to occur, which leads to distractions and
irritations. It makes it harder for students to study or sleep. If a roommate is a partier, it is
extremely difficult to fall asleep when being woken up by their noise and loudness. It can cause
students to perform negatively in their classes. This also causes privacy issues. Privacy and
personal space are so important if you struggle with homesickness or stress. If you do not have a
good relationship with your roommates or are homesick, being in a room with two other people
would make it feel worse. Social conflicts are almost definite when living in a triple studio; even
in a double studio there are conflicts. Disagreements over sharing spaces, noise levels, and
schedule differences are common when in a dorm with roommates. This can put a strain on the
people living in the dorms, causing disruptions with their sleeping patterns, personal lives, and
studying schedules.
Triple studio dorms put a strain on students’ wellbeing. I interviewed Lauren Roush, who
lives in a triple studio. I asked her two questions. “Do you feel that triple studios make it harder
to live on campus?” Lauren responded, “I hate it, it’s so cramped in my room I can’t even relax
without having one of my roommates in my room. There is always something going on with
them and it’s so annoying. I hear everything about their lives, and I don’t want to hear all of that.
I don’t have space for myself, and my room is so cramped with everyone’s stuff. I think it makes
it hard for anyone to live in a triple studio because there isn’t room, and all our schedules don’t
match up. I try my hardest to stay out of my room when my roommates are there. I can’t be in
my room without someone being in there.” She agrees that triple studios are difficult to live in
and they should not have triple studios as a normal room for students to pick. I asked her another
question, “How might the lack of space and increased noise levels in crowds in your room
contribute to your anxiety or discomfort?” Lauren answered, “I don’t have space for myself in
my room. If I am having a bad day, going back to my room makes me feel anxious because my
roommates are there. I don’t have my own space at all. I can’t have personal moments with
anyone. It’s hard to go and do my schoolwork in my room because my roommates are so loud
and it’s hard to focus.” Overall, putting three people into a small dorm room together causes
discomfort to the students living on campus.
The overpopulation of students does not just affect the students; it affects the professors,
too. Many professors feel an increased stress level while instructing a bigger group of students.
The overpopulation of students reduces teaching effectiveness. Professors cannot provide a better understanding of their teachings with a bigger classroom. It makes it harder for professors to understand their students’ personal needs and answer questions thoroughly. In larger classrooms, it tends to reduce student engagement and causes professors to struggle to keep students involved in their lessons. This can cause burnout in the professor. When the classroom size increases, there are many disruptions. Professors must grade too many assignments, papers, quizzes, and exams. This makes it hard for professors to provide detailed feedback to every student and help them understand the work. Caden, the one student I interviewed, answered another question: “Do you feel that overcrowded classrooms impact the quality of education and learning?” Caden responded with “Yes, because it is harder for the professor to help students individually when they have trouble.” This helps us understand that when professors have huge classrooms, they do not have time for individual students. Grading every single assignment is time consuming and less personalized to the student. On top of having issues with grading, maintaining classrooms with a large quantity of students requires a great
deal of effort. When classrooms are filled to the max, professors face disruptions ranging from
side conversations to loud behavior and even technology, like laptops and phones. These
distractions make it difficult for the professor to focus and manage the behaviors in the
classroom.
Solving the issue of the overabundance of students might be difficult, but there are some
solutions that might help this problem. Slippery Rock University should follow the limited
student capacity but if that does not happen, here are some other suggestions that could help with the problem. I suggest reducing the class sizes, having more hybrid or more online classes, and preparing the professors for larger class sizes.
Reducing class sizes will help benefit everyone. Holding smaller classes would improve
teaching and learning. The professors can be personable with their students, guiding them more
and helping them understand the material more. Small classes can be more focused on
communication and will relieve the pressures on students and professors. It can provide more
individualized lessons, better feedback, and help build stronger relationships between students
and professors. The students would not have a fear of asking questions in class or having to
present in class. I know from personal experiences that getting called on in class terrifies me and
probably others, too. When there are many people in the room, it is hard for some people to
answer questions. So, making the classrooms smaller and maybe having a better variety of
classes would help students feel more comfortable talking. Another solution could be more
hybrid and online classes.
Hybrid classes can be useful for Slippery Rock University if they want to keep going
over the capacity. SRU already has some hybrid and online classes but not enough for many
people to be able to join. For example, the ‘Science of Life’ class that SRU makes mandatory for
students to take for our Rock Studies. There are a few classes in person and a couple of online
classes but because they are important, they get filled up quickly. No matter where you look, the
class is almost always full. It is hard to get into the class, even with it being both an online class
and in-person. Instead of giving a few of those classes, have more online classes for students to
be able to take. It could help students be able to take the classes without having to be in a
classroom and worrying about not being able to get into the class. This initiative would help with
the overpopulation of the classrooms and with students who already have a busy schedule with
other important classes.
For professors who experience burnout, maybe by providing teaching strategies, and
classroom management could help the professors manage their stress level, which could improve
their teaching. In the conclusion of the article Influence of Resilience on Burnout Syndrome of
Faculty Professors, the article states. “First, our findings have implications for improving the
teacher–student relationship, because a happy educator is a mentally healthy professor. Second, a
faculty professor who is content with his or her supervisory relationship is more confident in his
or her talents and better prepared to deal with academic challenges.” When professors are happy
with their work and are not stressed from dealing with a large group of students, they feel
happier to work and help the people around them. It makes the professors want to put greater
effort into teaching and connecting people to their work.
There will never be a perfect solution to the overpopulation of students, but there are
options to help reduce the negative effects. Reducing the classroom sizes, following the capacity
limit, prepare the professors for larger class sizes, and having more hybrid classes would help the
problem of overpopulation. If Slippery Rock University addresses the issues and tries to find
small solutions to this problem, the campus would run smoother. Students and professors would
benefit greatly from these solutions.
Works Cited
“Fast Facts.” Slippery Rock University, https://www.sru.edu/about/fast-facts. Accessed 22 Nov.
2024.
“How Flu Spreads.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/spread/index.html Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
“Influence of Resilience on Burnout Syndrome of Faculty Professors.” Kln Pass User Login,
https://sshelco-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?2 Nov. 2024.
“SRU Enrollment up for a Third Straight Year and Retention Is at a Record High.” Slippery
Rock University, 6 Nov. 2024, www.sru.edu/news/091924a.
Caden. Personal Interview. November 25th, 2024.
Olivia ‘Livvy’ Bankosh. Personal Interview. November 28th, 2024.
Lauren Roush, Personal Interview. December 3rd, 2024
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