UW 9-26-17
Driven by a robust rise in first-time freshmen and transfer student numbers, enrollment at the University of Wyoming has increased in the fall 2017 semester.
Census data collected on the 15th day of classes tallied 1,696 new freshmen, an increase of 145 students, or 9.3 percent, from fall 2016. Additionally, 1,086 transfer students enrolled, up 119, or 12.3 percent, from last fall.
Overall, a total of 12,397 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled at the university, compared to 12,366 last fall. The 15th class day is used because it falls after the class drop/add deadlines, and after the first tuition and fee payment is due.
The increase reverses several years of declines in new student enrollment at UW.
“The university leadership set a vision for enrollment growth, and the university community responded in a meaningful way,” says Kyle Moore, UW’s associate vice provost for enrollment management. “UW ramped up its marketing and recruitment efforts; faculty and staff across campus engaged in student recruitment activities; and even alumni across the state and region joined in by writing letters to prospective students. It’s this kind of collaborative effort and pride that sends a clear message to students that UW is serious about each student’s success.”
UW’s new freshman class is made up of 925 students from Wyoming and 771 from outside the state — a 12 percent increase from last fall for residents and 6 percent increase for nonresidents.
The new transfer students come primarily from Wyoming — 771, up from 717 last fall — while out-of-state transfers rose to 315 from 250 last fall.
Those increases helped offset a 122-student drop in UW’s senior class, as the university saw its largest-ever graduating class during the past academic year.
Also playing a role in the increase was a continuing rise in UW’s fall-to-fall retention of first-time students. A record 78.1 percent of UW’s first-time freshmen in the fall 2016 semester returned to the university this fall, the fifth straight year the retention rate has increased.
The total number of student credit hours increased by 1.7 percent to 151,524 this fall, a possible indication of continued movement in UW’s efforts to encourage progress toward degree completion.
Here are some other highlights from the fall 2017 enrollment report:
— The average ACT score for new freshmen is 24.7, up from 24.4 last year.
— The Laramie campus has 10,396 students, compared with 10,341 last fall.
— The number of graduate students increased to 2,606 from 2,578 last fall, a 1.1 percent increase.
For additional information or questions about UW enrollment, contact Moore at (307) 766-4286 or kyle.moore@uwyo.edu. Students interested in scheduling campus visits should call UW Admissions at 800-DIAL-WYO or go online at www.uwyo.edu/admissions/visit/index.html.