Ball State's freshman class enrollment is smaller this year than previous ones, but university officials said the incoming students make up in quality what they lack in quantity.
Although Ball State won't have the final head count of freshman students until the end of the first week of classes, Tom Taylor, vice president for Enrollment, Marketing and Communications, said the class is comparable in size to the freshman classes of 2006 and 2007, which is the university's target class size, he said.
The 2006 freshman class enrollment was 3,995 students and the 2007 freshman enrollment was 3,773 students.
Taylor said this year's freshman class is smaller due to the intentional process of raising admission standards.
"The last two years we had larger [freshman] classes, and we have seen a continued increase in applications, which enabled us to raise admission standards and gave us flexibility to bring in a smaller class intentionally," he said.
The enrollment numbers for 2008 incoming freshmen was 4,039 students and 2009 was 4,178 students.
Taylor said it already looks like there will be an increase in retention rate from last year's freshman class.
"Improvement in retention rate in a stronger freshman class helps overall enrollment," he said.
This year, it appears as if Ball State will have a larger on-campus enrollment by a couple hundred students as well as a larger off-campus enrollment, Taylor said. Last year's on-campus, undergraduate enrollment was 15,833 students and off-campus enrollment was 2,346 students.
Taylor said every year Ball State evaluates where it is with applications, but he expects the school will continue to raise its standards of students as the university moves forward.
Read More
IPR: Indiana Michigan Power extends Tillotson Avenue road construction project
By Indiana Public Radio / 3 days agoOriginally, the project had a November completion date. In a statement Thursday, the company says it has found more damage to “the existing underground infrastructure.”
Indiana Capital Chronicle: New revenue eaten up by Medicaid budget forecast
By Indiana Capital Chronicle / 4 days agoActuaries defend $1B ‘mistake’
Ball State holds 200th Commencement ceremony
By Trinity Rea / December 14, 2024Ball State University held its 200th commencement ceremony Dec. 14, celebrating over 1,200 Cardinal graduates.
