MARIETTA - Southern Polytechnic State University is expecting record-breaking enrollment this fall, breaking the 5,000 mark for the first time.

On Thursday, as freshmen began moving into dorms ahead of the first classes on Monday, Dr. Lisa Rossbacher addressed the challenges of a growing university in her annual state of the university speech. About 5,100 students will fill the campus this fall, up 6 percent from the same time a year ago.

Rossbacher, who is beginning her 12th year as the school's president, lauded the school's recent approval to offer three new evening engineering degrees. The Georgia Board of Regents approved the degrees last week. SPSU will join Georgia Tech as the only universities in the state to offer bachelor's degrees in mechanical, electrical and civil engineering. SPSU will be the only one to offer them as evening programs.

Rossbacher said there's been a great demand in the state for those engineering programs and that adding them was a logical step in the university's growth.

"It really is a culmination of literally decades of work by faculty, staff, alumni and industry supporters," Rossbacher said

Also last week, the Regents imposed six mandatory staff furlough days on public colleges and universities to save $42 million as the state deals with budget cuts. In addition, Rossbacher said the university plans to delay filling job vacancies, defer equipment purchases and use contingency funds to cope.

However, she acknowledged that the subject is a touchy one, especially given the current economy. She has left it up to department heads to work out when employees will take their furlough days.

"I hate telling you this, talking about it and talking about it today," Rossbacher told the audience. "But, it's something I know is on people's minds and something we need to deal with this year."

English Professor Mark Stevens, head of SPSU's faculty, said Rossbacher has done a great job of preparing faculty and staff for the furloughs by conducting several meetings.

"Lisa made it very clear that if the Regents had given her any choice, we had the money. We didn't have to do the furloughs," Stevens said.

"It's saving the university about $600,000. We could have found that money without furloughs," Stevens said. "We think furloughs are a terrible idea."

The surging enrollment has prompted SPSU to begin more environmental sustainability activities, such as starting bicycle-sharing and car-pool initiatives.

Rossbacher also mentioned physical changes on campus, including a new entrance on South Marietta Parkway, a new parking deck expected to open on Sept. 21. Next year, construction should be completed on two more projects: an architectural studio annex in August and an engineering and technology center in September.

And there are lots of other things happening at SPSU, Rossbacher said.

For one, Erroll Davis Jr., chancellor of the University System of Georgia, will visit the campus on Sept. 2 and meet with student and academic leaders. In December, Rossbacher expects the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) will reaccredit the university.

Staff university-wide will be keeping a close eye out this fall for cases of the H1N1 virus, or swine flu. The state's Department of Community Health has asked universities to report spikes in absentees and create action plans in case of an epidemic.

Next spring, university leaders will update the university's strategic plan, focusing on meeting the needs of the growing university, ensuring continued academic excellence, and involving more students, faculty and alumni in the life of university, she said.

Rossbacher said the state of the university is very strong.

"There's no question we're in a challenging environment right now, dealing with increasing enrollment, expanded programs," she said. But "this is a wonderful place to be. I have a huge sense of pride in this institution."