NDSU officials report first day enrollment was 2 percent higher than last year. As of the first full day of classes on Aug. 24, NDSU has 14,204 students enrolled in its undergraduate, professional and graduate programs compared to fall 2009 first full day count of 13,929. This represents an increase of 275 students. Undergraduate students are up 305.
Prakash Mathew, vice president of student affairs, attributes the increase to several factors, including an increase in student retention and a higher number of international and Minnesota students choosing NDSU. The official enrollment count will be announced Sept. 21.
NDSU has 3,204 new undergraduates with 2,410 freshman and 794 transfer students. The number of international students rose from 1,027 to 1,153, an increase of 12.3 percent.
“We are anticipating a modest increase in our fall enrollment. Retention efforts have paved the way for a higher percentage of returning students. Of course, enrollment figures will fluctuate up and down in the next several weeks. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens with the final enrollment figure. The good news is that I sense optimism and excitement on campus which reaffirms that we are moving in the right direction,” said Mathew.
NDSU President Bresciani said, “The 2 percent increase in enrollment reflects the transition that NDSU went through during the interim administration. During that time there was a more purposeful strategy towards growth to allow for an incoming president to determine the long-term direction for NDSU.”
There was a 1 percent decrease in professional and graduate students registered at this time, but the graduate school reported that graduate school applications were up 18 percent this year compared to last year at this time. David Wittrock, dean of the graduate school, said much of this is due to mature graduate programs.
“We anticipated noticeable enrollment growth when our graduate programs were first started. Now many of them are close to capacity, and we are not starting as many programs. I expect, however, there will be a small increase in graduate school enrollment when the final numbers come out in late September,” said Wittrock.
President Bresciani said NDSU’s enrollment reflects how students view the university. “Students see the quality and value of the NDSU experience. Nationwide there is a demand for what NDSU has to offer – a degree from one of the top student-focused land grant research universities in the country. There are few, if any other land grant universities that conduct research at our level, but remain student-focused. NDSU is attracting quite a bit of recognition for being that kind of university,” he said.