Iowa welcomes 4,557 new Hawkeyes; first-year enrollment climbs 12.2%
Many records were broken in fall 2010, but perhaps none were more notable than the 12.2 percent increase in the number of students in our first-year class.
I am very pleased to report great success in student recruitment. Iowa attracted 4,557 first-year students this semester—494 more than last year, and 268 more than the previous record-breaking incoming class in 2006.
That puts the University well on track to meet—and likely exceed—its 2009 goal of boosting enrollment by 500 students within five years.
Iowa’s new class is one of the most diverse in the school’s history. Some 12.64 percent of the incoming class identify as minorities, compared with 11.2 percent of last year’s incoming class.
Iowa also saw a spike in international undergraduate student enrollment—555 this year, up from 379 last year, a 46.4 percent increase. International students now make up nearly 9.16 percent of the total UI student body (including graduate and professional students).
“The academic distinction of our student body continues to rise,” adds Beth Ingram, associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of the University College. “Whatever our numbers, we will maintain our focus on providing the services and support that students need to succeed.”
That focus is reflected in another record-breaking number: a jump in student retention. The Office of the Registrar reports that 86.28 percent of last fall’s first-time freshmen returned to campus this fall, compared to an average first-to-second-year retention rate of about 83.35 percent over the previous 10 years. That figure—86.28 percent—is just shy of the 87 percent retention rate set as a five-year goal in July 2009 by the UI’s Early Intervention Committee. This committee—made up of administrators, staff, faculty, and students—has been actively identifying and reaching out to students at risk of failing to meet certain enrollment requirements or of dropping out because of academic, financial, or personal challenges.
The University has a number of programs and services in place to help those students be successful here, ranging from academic advisors and the Advantage Iowa program to First-Year Seminars and Living-Learning Communities. A newly expanded University College will concentrate on student success initiatives. Look for more information about this exciting new effort in a future edition.