Utah State University Enrollment Drops

Utah State University student enrollment is down for fall semester, according to initial counts.

 

Preliminary numbers indicate that the university headcount, 23,128, is down 780 students compared to fall 2004's headcount of 23,908. The smallest decline is among entering freshmen, down about 100 students.

 

"Our new freshmen count, at 2,050, is coming in about where we predicted," said Joyce Kinkead, vice provost for undergraduate studies and research. "Our new transfer student numbers, at 924, are also where we predicted and fairly even with last year."

 

She said the dip in enrollment has not come as a surprise. A number of factors have influenced the decrease in enrollment on the main campus.

 

These factors include a decrease in the number of high school graduates in 2004 (the lowest in more than a decade), the continuing impact of tougher state residency requirements for out-of-state students, an increase in the number of Utah higher-education institutions offering four-year degrees and a significant drop in the number of transfer students from Rick's College, now Brigham Young University Idaho.

 

Upper-division student numbers are down more than expected.

 

"Although we are down in our upper-division students, this has a good news side to it," Kinkead said. "We believe we are graduating students more efficiently. Our students are completing their degrees in a more timely fashion."

 

For instance, the university implemented a Graduate Guarantee program that encourages students to finish efficiently and cost effectively.

 

The state of Utah requires students with excessive credits to pay a tuition surcharge (equivalent to out-of-state tuition), so this, too, could be motivating students to finish, Kinkead said.

 

"We also have a number of students on excused leave for military service, FEMA service in the Katrina area and church service," she said. "That amounts to several hundred students who are not currently in our enrollment figures."

 

Enrollment fluctuations are normal in higher education, mirroring demographic changes and economic up- and down-swings. Nevertheless, the university is looking seriously at additional factors that may portend future declines and is taking steps now to address them, Kinkead said.

 

For example, while there will be a slow up-swing in the next few years among graduating high school seniors, much of that growth is in Hispanic students and other under-represented groups that will require significant outreach to K-12 populations.

 

As more Utah colleges change from two-year to four-year institutions, competition increases for a finite number of students. The university finds itself in a more competitive environment and must respond accordingly. One area being reviewed is the amount per student spent by the university to recruit, an amount that is currently well below the national average for a public, four-year university.

 

"Utah State has always been thin on the ground in terms of the staff to support recruitment and marketing," Kinkead said. "We owe a great deal to our staff in Admissions who make so much happen using so few resources."

 

In-state enrollment is a complex picture affected by a number of issues including scholarships, cost of tuition, faculty-to-student ratio and athletic quality, said Melissa Miller Kincart, assistant to the vice provost for enrollment management.

 

"During the next two to three years, maintaining enrollment and quality will depend on significant investment in scholarships and other forms of financial aid - especially in a time of declining high school graduates," Kincart said.

 

But despite the declines, entering freshmen and returning students continue to give Utah State University high marks for value and quality. That points to significant recruiting potential, particularly among Salt Lake high school students, Kincart said.

 

A 2004 Cooperative Institutional Research Program survey listed the top reasons students come to USU. The top four reasons noted were the university's financial assistance, its "very good" academic reputation, graduates placed in high paying jobs and its "very good" reputation for social activities.

 

The CIRP survey also revealed that more than 87 percent of respondents reported that USU was their first choice, and more than 40 percent said they did not apply to any other institution.

 

Consumer's Digest rates Utah State as number six of the top 10 colleges that offer the most academic value per dollar. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education ranks Utah State second in affordability. Already listed as "Best in the West" by the Princeton Review, USU was recently notified that the Princeton Review will include it in a forthcoming volume on “America's Best Value Colleges.”

 

"We are proud of the fact that Utah State tops these lists," said Interim Provost Noelle Cockett. "As a top 100 research institution in the United States, value and quality is what Utah State is all about."

 

Contacts: Joyce Kinkead, (435) 797-1706, joyce.kinkead@usu.edu

                   Noelle Cockett, (435) 797-1167, noelle.cockett@usu.edu