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October 29, 1997
WRIGHT STATE ENROLLMENT UP
REVERSING 6 YEAR DECLINE
Although enrollment at most of Ohio's 13 state-assisted universities has remained steady or
fallen, Wright State University's enrollment is up for the first time in six years, reversing an
enrollment decline that began in 1991.
Student headcount is up 2.1 percent over 1996 and credit hours are up two percent.
WSU's student enrollment this year is 16,033 compared with 15,697 in 1996 and student
credit hours rose from 166,645 to 169,927. Enrollment of new freshmen increased by 10
percent (195 students), and student enrollment at the Lake Campus increased 11.5
percent to 729.
"Enrollment growth is crucial to our Vision 2020 and Strategic Plan, and this gradual increase
bodes well for Wright State's future," says President Harley Flack. "The innovative and
creative approaches of our Enrollment Planning Council (EPC), deans, faculty and staff, and
the hard work and commitment of the entire university community helped to turn things
around."
Enrollment in the College of Engineering and Computer Science increased seven percent this year. James Brandeberry, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science says the college concentrated its efforts on direct mail recruiting, developing a 10-minute recruitment videotape and upgrading its web site.
The College of Education and Human Services' enrollment is at an all time high and Dean Gregory Bernhardt credits the department chairpersons and the faculty.
"Our chairs were particularly skilled in expanding spaces in closed classes, reassigning classes to bigger rooms where possible, and adding extra sections of closed classes where high quality adjuncts were available," he says.
The activities at the Lake Campus in Celina, where student credit hours are up nine percent, included television and radio advertisements, distributing 50,000 flyers and schedules through the daily and weekly newspapers, holding an outdoor concert and sponsoring a float in the Celina Lake Festival parade.
"We focused our efforts on three things," says Dan Evans, dean of the Lake Campus. "We
wanted to keep a positive image in front of the public, respond quickly to the educational
needs identified by the community and encourage a campus attitude that 'retention and
recruitment' are everybody's business. This last one is liberating because whenever
someone comes up with a good idea, we try it."
Retention and diversity up
This year, the retention rate of first year students increased from 67 percent to 70 percent.
This is a first for the university. The percentage has hovered around 66 percent for a number of years.
"The real significance behind the retention increase is the potential impact it can have on our graduation rate and on our state subsidy," says Provost John Fleischauer. "Ohio is moving toward an all-term reporting, with particular emphasis on performance funding and student access and success. Increasing enrollment and retention suggests that we're achieving our goals."
The diversity of Wright State's student body also continues to increase. This year, minority
student enrollment increased by 12 percent, the number of African-American students is up
by 18 percent, international student enrollment rose 11 percent and the number of women
students increased to 56 percent of the total student body.
University Enrollment Plan
A key component in the enrollment increase was implementation of an aggressive enrollment
plan developed by the Enrollment Planning Council (EPC), a committee of WSU faculty and
staff formed by President Flack to recommend strategies for increasing enrollment. Working
with the deans, the EPC established specific goals for each college and school. The deans
monitored the progress of their respective academic units and adjusted their strategies as
necessary, including opening closed classes.
"I knew that if we all worked together, we could reverse the university's enrollment decline."
says President Flack. "Almost all of the colleges met and even surpassed their enrollment
goals. I'm looking forward to our continued progress toward returning to Fall 1991 enrollment
levels."
Enrollment Snapshot
