Fall 2004 Enrollment
TO: Faculty and Staff
FROM: Stephen T. Hulbert, President
This week you will be seeing and hearing media coverage regarding the Fall Semester 2004 enrollment. The number of students enrolled at Nicholls State University is at its highest since 1992 and students arriving at the University are better prepared for admission. The data reflects a 220 student or 3.03 percent increase this fall compared to one year ago. The data also shows record high ACT scores and enrollment figures for new freshmen and a record high number of full-time students.
The 7,482 students currently enrolled include 6,787 undergraduates (up 4.03 percent) and 695 graduate students. Full-time enrollment is at a record 5,753 and another 1,729 students take classes on a part-time basis. These gains are even more significant when considering that recent increases in the University’s graduation rates have resulted in a reduction in the number of returning seniors. This fall, average ACT scores for freshmen entering Nicholls rose from 19.50 to 19.73, which is significant progress, especially when looked at in light of the rising number of incoming freshmen.
One factor contributing to the higher enrollment is that the University allocated a record $2,086,966 in scholarship support this year, almost $800,000 more than two years ago. As a result, the number of academically talented scholarship recipients is increasing. In fact the University successfully recruited 39 valedictorians this year, compared to 24 for the year before.
The retention rate of last year’s full-time, first-time freshman class, 65.3 percent, was higher than the 57.6 percent that returned the year before. The number of first-time freshmen earning Tuition Opportunity Program for Students scholarships rose from 514, or 35.3 percent, to 666 or 40.5 percent. The total number of Nicholls students on TOPS scholarships rose from 1,455 to 1,674.
I want to use this means to acknowledge the hard work of involved administrative staff in Admissions, Financial Aid and Records and Registration, among other areas, for their extraordinary effort to recruit and retain students. Just as importantly, I want to thank everyone across the University community for their individual and collective contribution to the recruitment and retention effort. Together, we have worked more efficiently and more effectively to recruit and retain better-prepared students. The substantial effort to streamline the enrollment process, to enhance related student services and to make even more scholarship dollars available is showing results and will continue to do so.
Nicholls State University will move to even more selective admissions standards next fall. Through the effort of so many of you within the University community, I feel that Nicholls is well positioned to successfully transition to that higher level of admissions standard.
Thank you for your significant contributions and support in this challenging area. We have much more work to do together but success is clearly within our institutional reach.
Accompanying this message you will find an attachment that provides more detailed information on the enrollment, retention and related matters referenced in this statement.