MU’s student enrollment on the first day of classes Monday broke records across the board, from minority numbers to first-time college students.
Enrollment totaled 33,318 students, which is 1,309 more than at this time last year.
“It’s wonderful to see that as our enrollment continues to grow, so does the quality of our students,” Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Ann Korschgen said in a news release. “As the state’s flagship, land grant, research university, one of our primary missions is to prepare our students for a global economy.”
This year’s incoming class of 6,168 students is the largest in MU’s history, eight more than last year. The mean ACT score of the freshman class grew to 25.7, the second highest in MU’s history. Of the incoming class, 1,099 come from minority backgrounds, up 57 students from last year.
The total number of students who identify in a minority population grew by 529, putting the total at 4,480. Both the black and Hispanic student enrollment records set records for both first-time and total enrollment. The student body that identifies as black grew by 205 students to a total of 2,231, and the student body who identifies as Hispanic rose by 100, putting it at 882.
In-state first-time college students were among the only groups to drop in enrollment. This group dropped from 4,409 to 4,243, or a total of 166 students. This was expected and continues to be expected until 2014, Korschgen said.
“As we expected, the number of Missouri high school graduates declined this year,” she said. “However, a significant increase in the number of out-of-state students offset that decrease, and we are glad to welcome them to our Mizzou family.”
Out-of-state first time college student enrollment increased to 1,925, 174 more than last year. Total out-of-state enrollment rose 812 and total in-state enrollment grew 497.
Transfer, graduate and professional student enrollment set records as well, to 1,390, 6,268 and 1,239 respectively.
Student retention increased to 85.1, which is the third highest in MU’s history. Retention is measured as the number of freshmen who return in the fall for their sophomore year. The increase of 0.6 percent is notable given the record-breaking size of last year’s incoming class.
To help accommodate the increased number of students, MU spokesman Christian Basi said MU maximized its use of classroom space. With the recently completed renovations to Tate and Switzler halls, more space is available.
Existing faculty members have been asked to teach additional courses and new faculty has been hired as well. More classes are being held at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., as well as more classes in the early evening. Classes have also been moved to different locations around campus so the space can be used efficiently.
Official numbers won’t be available until Sept. 19, the 20th day of classes.
