Baylor enrollment drops; some measures improve _92203

Posted: 9/19/03

Baylor enrollment drops;
some measures improve

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

WACO–Fall enrollment at Baylor University is down, but the university made gains against some key enrollment goals this year.

Total university enrollment is 13,937, a decrease of 1.6 percent or 222 students from last fall.

Total undergraduate enrollment is 11,712, a decrease of 2.3 percent or 275 students from last fall's 11,987.

However, this fall's freshman class is larger than last fall's by 58 students and came closer to hitting budget goals than last fall's entering class.

The university budget anticipated 2,775 freshmen and 500 transfer students this fall. Freshman enrollment missed the budget goal by only 97 students, an improvement over last year's miss of 225 students.

This year's transfer-student enrollment of 420 fell 80 students short of budget goals.

Together, freshman and transfer enrollment missed budget goals by 177 students.

While an improvement, that shortfall translates into a $2.96 million loss in anticipated tuition income, assuming all would have been full-pays or received scholarship assistance from outside the university's general budget.

Baylor staff members had been told their ability to receive pay raises this year would be dependent on meeting fall enrollment projections.

Meeting enrollment goals has become more urgent due to the implementation of Baylor 2012, a 10-year strategic plan that calls for massive construction projects, hiring hundreds of additional faculty members and gaining Tier One status in the U.S. News & World Report rankings.

Total enrollment, undergraduate enrollment and freshman enrollment all dropped last fall, the first year of a new flat-rate tuition implemented through Baylor 2012. Tuition increased 29 percent last fall over what it previously had been.

Last year's losses ended a string of enrollment increases in undergraduate enrollment and total enrollment, although freshman enrollment had bounced up and down over the preceding years.

Last fall's entering freshman class of 2,620 was the smallest in five years. This fall's total of 2,678 new freshmen, while an increase from last year, is otherwise the smallest entering class in six years.

Baylor also recorded a decline in number of returning students this fall, with 8,582, down 303.

University officials attributed that decline to the smaller size of last year's freshman class and a larger-than-usual graduating class last spring.

The retention rate among last year's freshmen is 84 percent, which is a slight improvement. That is significant because last fall's freshman class was the first to pay the new, higher tuition rate.

Enrollment in graduate programs overall has held steady, although Truett Seminary has continued its growth trend. The seminary has grown from 123 students in 1996 to 379 this fall. This year's seminary enrollment is a 7.3 percent gain over last fall.

Law School enrollment is 440, a 3 percent gain over last year.

In related news, Baylor's board of regents approved a 6.87 percent increase in tuition for the 2004-2005 academic year. That will put next fall's tuition at $17,900 per year, up from $16,750 this year.

In addition, the general student fee will increase 7.97 percent next fall, to $1,490, and room rates will increase 7.04 percent to $2,920. With a 3.2 percent increase in meal-plan rates, that will bring the total cost of tuition, room and board next year to $25,102.

Tuition for graduate students operates on a different scale. The rate will increase 6.67 percent for Truett Seminary.

Editor's note: Detailed reports on Baylor's enrollment trends may be found at www.baylor.edu. Click on the About Baylor icon, then in the left-hand column choose Quick Facts and then Trends.