Lingering protests in the area have given some people the impression the region is unsafe. Administrators at the University of Missouri-St. Louis believe that perception is hurting their ability to attract and retain students.

This fall, university leaders thought they were headed toward a 4 percent increase in enrollment. What they got instead was only a 1.5 percent increase when 300 students – including new students and those who had previously enrolled – decided against going to UMSL.

For the upcoming spring semester, administrators are bracing for lower than expected registrations by putting in place a hiring freeze that Chancellor Thomas George believes will help plug an anticipated $2 million hole in the university’s budget.

Currently, 6 percent fewer students have signed up for spring classes compared to last year. This means that if the university doesn’t close that gap, it will have 600 fewer students than the 11,724 who enrolled during the spring 2014 semester.

In an interview Wednesday, George pointed to a two-week period in August – almost immediately after protests over the Michael Brown shooting began – when large numbers of students decided they weren’t coming back to school.