Western Carolina University will target transfer, graduate and distance learning students to help grow its enrollment without creating greater strain on its residence and dining halls.

This fall, enrollment at WCU reached a record 9,608, a 2.7 percent increase compared to fall 2011. Of those, 7,500 attend classes on campus in Cullowhee. The number of freshman who returned to the university for their sophomore year has also increased.

Western Carolina University leaders hope to benefit from a philosophical switch in state funding for higher education — one that would clamp down on universities gaming the system, whether on purpose or unintentionally, when it comes to funding student growth.

Every year, colleges and universities in North Carolina send the state their predictions for the following year’s enrollment. The state then allocates funding for each school based on the number of students it expects to attend.

You probably won’t see them on television with the “Bad Boys” theme song playing in the background, jumping chain link fences or tackling shirtless men in motel parking lots — unless they have to. Rather, a lot of what goes into running Western Carolina University’s police force, one of the most complex law enforcement outfits in the region, happens behind the scenes in the planning room.

It’s been more than three months since voters in Jackson County approved a countywide alcohol initiative. Yet, except for a few telltale signs, a look around Cullowhee on the doorstep of Western Carolina University wouldn’t lead anyone to believe that much has changed at all.

Western Carolina University will unveil a state-of-the art $46 million Health and Human Sciences building when students return to campus in a few weeks.

The new Health and Human Sciences building is the first building to crown WCU’s Millennial Campus, and hopefully a stepping stone to help realize the initial vision for the 344-acre addition to campus.

The Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, quintet-in-residence at Western Carolina University, made a seven-day educational tour of Jamaica this summer to inspire the teaching and learning of brass instruments in the public schools there.

Despite rumors to the contrary, Sylva’s bars are not abandoning the town for the student-laden pastures of Cullowhee.

Area residents have heard whispers that the Bone Shack and O’Malley’s Pub and Grill — two bars that count college students among their base of patrons — will close their doors in Sylva and move their operations to Cullowhee.

Western Carolina University’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new strategic plan — the 2020 Vision — at its meeting two weeks ago.

The plan is designed to give the university a clear set of goals for the next decade.

The university wanted to create “a plan that inspires (and) is doable,” said Chancellor David Belcher. “We wanted this to be the overarching guiding document for the university.”

By Shannan Mashburn • SMN Intern

Singing, lonely goat herders, nuns, and Julie Andrews are just a few things Western Carolina University’s Bardo Arts Center will be prepared for on Father’s Day with the “Sound of Music” sing-a-long event.

At 3 p.m. June 17, participants of the sing-a-long will watch “The Sound of Music” with the subtitles so they can sing along with their favorite tunes. They’ll also receive a “magic moments pack” that contains all of the props participants will need to enjoy the event. Everyone is encouraged to design his or her own unique costumes for a parade that will take place after the screening of the timeless movie.