University of Arkansas' Updated Enrollment Breakdownsfor Fall 2004 Semester

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Final calculations of enrollment information for fall 2004 show slightly higher numbers of freshmen and a slightly higher increase in graduation rates than initially thought.

Non-majority student enrollment as a proportion of overall enrollment at the university remained consistent with fall 2003 numbers. Overall, non-majority students comprised 17.3 percent of the student body in fall 2004 as opposed to 17.7 percent in fall 2003. With the exception of international students, all categories of non-majority students increased in the new freshman class as previously reported.

Enrollment numbers among minority groups overall rose as well, with the exception of African-American students who numbered 981, down from 1,005 last year. African-American students, who make up 5.7 percent of the student body, still constitute the largest minority group on campus overall.

Students declining to identify themselves by ethnic category grew by 19.1 percent to 380, up from 319 last year.

The delay in issuing detailed numbers was caused by processing changes involved in moving to new software.

"The university has undergone a change in the data-processing systems used to assemble enrollment information this year in order to better meet federal reporting requirements," said Susan Rogers, associate vice chancellor for University Relations. "These numbers are the final breakdowns calculated by the Office of Admissions, the Registrar's Office, the Graduate School, University IT Services and the Office of Institutional Research."

The University of Arkansas continues its trend of growth under Chancellor John A. White with a record 17,269 students enrolled for the fall 2004 semester. The 5 percent increase breaks the previous record of 16,449 students set in fall 2003. The fall 2004 enrollment represents the first time the university has broken the 17,000-student mark.

Of the 13,817 undergraduate students enrolled at the U of A, 11,758 students, or 85.1 percent, are from Arkansas; 1,758 students, or 12.7 percent are out-of-state students; and 301 students, or 2.2 percent, are listed as international students.

The university has experienced overall growth of 17.2 percent since Chancellor White arrived in 1997, when 14,740 students were enrolled at the university. Chancellor White has set an enrollment goal of 22,500 by 2010, and a graduation rate of 66 percent.

The university also experienced increases in six-year graduation rates and overall retention. The six-year graduation rate, based upon the 1998 new freshman class, was 52.9 percent for 2004, up from 48.1 percent in 2003. Retention for fall 2004 also increased, with 83.7 percent of full-time, degree-seeking students enrolled during the previous year returning to campus for the new academic year.

"I want to commend the entire university faculty, staff and, most importantly, the students for their continued commitment to excellence and their tireless dedication to making the University of Arkansas the leading institution of this state," White said. "It is gratifying to see the graduation rate climb above the 50 percent mark. This, along with the continued recruitment and retention of an incredibly talented and motivated student body, will help propel the University of Arkansas into the top tier among its peer institutions. It is encouraging to see numerical increases of students who come from underrepresented groups, though we hope to do better proportionately in the future, and particularly among African-American students. We remain committed to creating a campus community that everyone will be proud to call their home."

Bob Smith, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs said, "It is encouraging to see the improvements in the university's retention and graduation statistics. Not only is the university able to attract the finest students in the region and country, it is able to keep them within the university community through commencement. I believe this is made possible through enhanced research opportunities with outstanding faculty members, improved programs of study and excellent social activities that celebrate the various cultures on campus."

The 2004 new freshman class, consisting of 2,514 degree-seeking students, represents a 6.7 percent increase from the fall 2003 new freshman class of 2,357 and is the second largest under Chancellor White. The largest new freshman class, enrolled in 1998, consisted of 2,556. This number does not include students who were new freshmen last year, but did not attain enough hours to be considered sophomores. It reflects only newly enrolled students.

While the new freshman class size increased 6.7 percent, the average ACT scores and the average high school GPA remained relatively stable. The average score on the ACT was 25.4, the same as last year's average. The average high school GPA decreased from 3.60 to 3.57. Overall, the average high school GPA has increased since 1997 when it was 3.40.

In the category of diversity among the 2004 new freshman class, non-majority students accounted for 13.4 percent of the class. The university experienced growth in five out of six categories. International students, the only category to report a decrease, dropped from 42 to 34 freshmen, a decrease of 19 percent.

The largest increase occurred among American Indian students, growing from 32 in fall 2003 to 62 this year, a 93.8 percent increase. Those who identified themselves as Hispanic-American freshmen increased 44.7 percent, from 38 in fall 2003 to 55 in fall 2004. The number of freshmen identifying themselves as African-American increased from 111 students one year ago to 116 students this year, an increase of 4.5 percent. The enrollment of freshmen identified as Asian-American grew 1.5 percent from 68 students in fall 2003 to 69 students this semester. Students who identified themselves as Caucasian increased from 2,024 to 2,130, an increase of 5.2 percent.

Freshmen declining to list themselves within any ethnic category increased 14.3 percent from 42 to 48.

In overall student ethnicity, students who list themselves as American Indian increased the most, growing in number from 300 to 352 students, or 17.3 percent. Students listed as Asian-Americans increased 6.8 percent from 429 to 458 students; Caucasian, 13,223 students to 13,905, a 5.2 percent increase; Hispanic-Americans, 287 to 298, a 3.8 percent increase; international students, a 1 percent increase from 886 to 895. African-American students decreased 2.4 percent during the past year, from 1,005 to 981.

Total law and graduate student enrollment increased to 3,452, up from 3,324 last year, or a 3.9 percent increase.

The UA School of Law experienced a 2.6 percent increase in degree-seeking students, from 457 to 469 students. Of those students, 408 are listed as in-state, 59 are listed as out-of-state and two are listed as international. Two students are listed as non-degree seeking.

Degree-seeking in-state graduate students increased 7.2 percent from 1,576 to 1,689 students. Degree-seeking out-of-state graduate students grew from 542 students to 582, a 7.4 percent increase, and degree-seeking international graduate students increased 6.5 percent, from 552 students to 588. Also, 122 graduate students are listed as non-degree-seeking.