I am a resident of Stellenbosch and I am concerned about the increase in student numbers over the last few years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have shared this concern with other residents who have also noted an increase in traffic and general congestion in the town, and we are wondering what the university\u2019s policy is on student numbers. When will the university decide they have reached maximum capacity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have also heard from current students that some classes are so full that some students have to sit on the floor because lecture halls cannot house them. It will also be of interest to know how much student numbers have increased over the past five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am fully aware that many people from other provinces and countries have also moved to our lovely town and that tourist numbers have increased post-Covid, so I am specifically requesting information about student numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Email<\/p>\n Martin Viljoen, spokesperson for Stellenbosch University (SU), responds:<\/strong> <\/p>\n For the 2024 academic year, 23 420 undergraduate students enrolled at SU by the end of the registration period, including 6 995 newcomer first-year undergraduate students, which is 725 more than last year\u2019s first-year intake. They are spread over the Stellenbosch, Tygerberg and Saldanha campuses.<\/p>\n There could be various reasons for the increase in student numbers including more students viewing Stellenbosch as an academic destination. SU does not \u201cplan\u201d to take in more students. In fact, SU, for some years and the foreseeable future, plans to take in 5 700 first-year students.<\/p>\n Enrolment planning in the South African public higher-education sector is complex and is becoming more complex due to increasing external pressures on the higher education sector and the economy. Enrolment management, that is the execution of internal university processes to reach the planned enrolment targets, is even more challenging as prospective students apply to more than one university, making enrolment rates are very difficult to predict.<\/p>\n Participation rates in public universities are expected to increase from over 937 000 students in 2011 to about 1,8 million enrolments in 2030. The planned expansion of access by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DET) impacts on individual universities\u2019 enrolment figures. <\/p>\n SU manages its enrolments within the parameters of the DET directives on enrolment planning. It can\u2019t show students away after they have met the specific admission requirements of programmes and been offered a place. In some faculties more offers were made than the previous year, and in some more students accepted the offers in 2024.<\/p>\n In addition, the number of SU-registered vehicles (by students) have not increased much since last year. <\/p>\n While there is an increase in student numbers the town is also growing, as can be seen in several new residential developments being built on the outskirts of the town.?Stellenbosch has a thriving economy, and various commercial opportunities have also increased commuter traffic in the area.<\/p>\n The university is in regular discussion with Stellenbosch Municipality on the management of these matters.<\/p>\n<\/address>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am a resident of Stellenbosch and I am concerned about the increase in student numbers over the last few years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":45938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"aa3eaada-b0a5-4d78-abad-e038ca9eec06","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-45936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/c6d4a6de714f4319ad7a553612355073.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63396,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/challenges-discussed-at-rector-mayor-forum\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":0},"title":"Challenges discussed at Rector-Mayor Forum","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"27 March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest Rector-Mayor Forum, held on 4 March, emphasized the strong partnership between Stellenbosch University (SU) and Stellenbosch Municipality in addressing critical issues in the town.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcforum_12159.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcforum_12159.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcforum_12159.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcforum_12159.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcforum_12159.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":76208,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/students-urged-to-work-together-to-fight-crime\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":1},"title":"Students urged to work together to fight crime","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"18 April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The US Student Representative Council's (SRC) recently held a safety imbizo with the aim of helping to address crime.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_9336_90292.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_9336_90292.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_9336_90292.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_9336_90292.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_9336_90292.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47490,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/are-the-great-kelp-forests-key-to-boosting-biodiversity-20231127\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":2},"title":"Are the great kelp forests key to boosting biodiversity?","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"28 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Marine researchers at Stellenbosch University (SU) have teamed up with Cape Town NPO Sea Change Project to research the biodiversity of the great African sea forest.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/ffde335e531d4f269840d925ef553489.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268427,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/the-neelsie-50-golden-years-as-iconic-heart-of-matie-life-in-stellenbosch\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":3},"title":"The Neelsie: 50 golden years as iconic heart of Matie life in Stellenbosch","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"30 October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Stellenbosch University's Neelsie Student Centre celebrated its 50th anniversary with a 50-day campaign. Highlights included a hefty cash donation from Nedbank for graduating students and final celebrations featuring performances by Majozi and Dappermuis. The centre is the heart of Matie student life.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The iconic Neelsie Student Centre in Stellenbosch.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/tcneelsie2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43643,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/food-technology-associations-have-new-leadership-20240912\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":4},"title":"Food-technology associations have new leadership","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"12 September 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a non-profit scientific global organisation, has announced changes to its leadership structures, including a young South African graduate student.","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/40cfc5f9579c446baa5bb02ad8de9c88.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":296439,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/stellenbosch-students-targets-for-theft\/","url_meta":{"origin":45936,"position":5},"title":"Stellenbosch students targets for theft","author":"Ya\u00ebl Malgas","date":"9 April 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Students should remain vigilant both on campus and throughout Stellenbosch town, following a recent incident of bicycle theft that occurred in the area. A first-year female student was cycling to her private residence outside Stellenbosch University (SU) campus when an unknown man stopped her around 17:00. According to the student's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SAPS logo, polisie","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Police-crime-intelligence-4.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Eikestadnuus","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45936"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=45936"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=45936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}