Overall enrollment at the University of Idaho is down this semester, partially due to a decrease in transfer students, said Jean Kim, vice provost for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.
“It didn”t strike me as a surprise that the transfer (student) market was down,” Kim said.
UI reported a 1.4 percent decline in overall student enrollment this semester compared to fall 2014, according to a university statement released Friday. The decline brings UI”s overall student enrollment to 11,372, down from 11,534 students last fall.
Despite the overall slip, UI saw a 1.2 percent increase in enrollment of in-state undergraduate freshman this semester. UI also reported an increase in international student enrollment and duel-credit student enrollment.
“I think we”re headed in the right direction,” Kim said. “We”ve sort of stabilized the ship.”
Kim said administrators will use this year”s enrollment numbers as a baseline going forward as they work toward President Chuck Staben”s goal of doubling student enrollment in 10 years.
“I am very optimistic that we can make progress toward that,” Kim said of the goal.
To increase transfer student enrollment, Kim said UI started the VandaLink program, which encourages students at Idaho community colleges to continue their education at UI.
VandaLink has been established at College of Western Idaho, North Idaho College and College of Southern Idaho, Kim said.
VandaLink, she said, will have an impact on future enrollment numbers and will ensure a stronger connection between UI and Idaho”s community colleges.
For recruiting high school students, Kim said the direct admissions policy passed by the State Board of Education earlier this year should have an affect on UI”s enrollment in the future.
“I think it will be up, I just don”t know by what percentage at this point,” Kim said.
In a statement Monday, the SBOE officials announced they had sent out acceptance letters to more than 20,000 high school seniors throughout Idaho. A student”s GPA and college entrance exam score determined whether or not they received an acceptance letter from UI, according to the statement. In an effort to increase first-year student enrollment, Kim said UI will also host Enroll Idaho events throughout the state this week, encouraging students to continue their education after high school.
In addition to the initiatives, Kim said UI administrators are looking at different scholarship opportunities for first-year students, especially for in-state students.
She said they are looking to provide more money for student scholarships and have a different way of packaging scholarships. She said the changes will aim to improve access to UI for first-year and transfer students.
UI will hire an additional recruiter in Southeast Idaho to focus on recruiting undergraduate and graduate students, Kim said.
In the university statement, UI also reported a 2 percent increase in the first-year student retention rate from fall 2014, bringing the retention rate to 80 percent.
Compared to fall 2014, UI also saw a decrease in enrollment at three of its four statewide satellite campuses. Student enrollment at UI”s Coeur d”Alene campus dropped to 416 students, compared to 429 students last fall. UI”s Boise campus also saw a decrease in enrollment from 415 in fall 2014 to 388 students this fall.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @ryantarinelli