First-day enrollment at UND sets record

More freshmen than ever contributes to a total of more students than ever, as the Year of Community at UND officially begins

For a full half-hour the students streamed in, arriving in groups from the four corners of the Quad, and eventually overflowing the boundaries that the photo planners had earlier staked out.

“Wow,” organizers of the above photo said on Sunday, delighting at the ever-growing assembly of laughing, excited college freshmen.

“This is a big class.”

Indeed it is:

First-day enrollment figures at UND set important records on Tuesday, with the University’s total headcount and incoming freshmen numbers both setting all-time highs.

The following numbers are tentative, because the official figures won’t be available until Sept. 22, when the North Dakota University System conducts its official Census Day count. (Typically, UND’s headcount goes up by several hundred students between the first day of classes and Census Day.)

A ‘welcoming, supportive community’

With those caveats in mind, here are this week’s numbers:

UND’s first-day headcount this week came in at 15,440. That’s up 716 students or 4.86% over last year’s figure, and is almost 200 students over the University’s previous all-time census high of 15,250, achieved in fall 2012.

Meanwhile, UND first-day count of incoming freshmen topped off at 2,534. That’s also a record — a 174-student jump over the previous all-time high of 2,360, also achieved in fall 2012 — and represents a 14% increase over the University’s already-high number of 2,221 from last year.

“UND is celebrating a record-breaking freshman class and overall enrollment, a true reflection of our welcoming, collaborative community and the strong support systems that help students succeed,” said Janelle Kilgore, vice provost of Strategic Enrollment Management.

“From personalized recruitment and advising to exceptional academic programs and student resources, UND creates an environment where every student can thrive inside and outside the classroom. We’re excited to welcome our students back on campus and into classes for an incredible year ahead.”

Two of the major categories that UND tracks experienced year-over-year declines. They are total graduate students (3,374, down 40 from last year), and new transfer students (1,049, down 25 from last year).

But the Law School and Medical School were among the categories that saw gains, reaching total first-day enrollments of 243 (up 12 students from last year) and 284 (up eight students from last year), respectively.

‘This is a special place’

Another key indicator is new graduate students, which is up 31 students to a total of 745 this year.

“What is remarkable about the enrollment growth here at UND is not the number itself, as impressive as it may be,” said Eric Link, UND provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.

“What sets UND apart is the dynamic nature of our campus, the quality of our academic programming, the support and opportunities we provide to our students and, most importantly, the dedication and drive of the students themselves.

“This is a special place, and the fact that students continue to choose UND as their university — their academic home — is a testament to the quality and impact UND is making in the region and across the globe.”

Here are some other numbers that help round out the portrait of UND’s freshman class, the students waving their pennants in the photo above:

• The class includes nine Army ROTC national scholars, the highest number in UND history.
• It also includes five National Merit Scholars, bringing the total number at UND to 30.
• The 23 freshmen who’ve been named UND’s first Presidential Leadership Fellows each will receive $16,000 in scholarships ($4,000 a year up to four years), as long as they continue to meet the program’s standards.
• A full 30% of UND’s freshman class are Presidential Scholars, meaning they got great grades in high school or scored high on the ACT or SAT. The comparable figure for last year’s class was 23%.
• UND also is seeing an increase in freshmen from North Dakota as well as Minnesota, and has noted an increase of more than 30% in the number of military-affiliated students in the freshman class.

“UND is a special place,” said Art Malloy, vice president for Student Affairs.

“Though we are a large university, our strong sense of community makes us feel much smaller and more connected. Our facilities are second to none, and our faculty and staff are exceptional. We truly care for one another, and this includes students, faculty and staff alike.

“Everything we do is centered on supporting our students,” Malloy continued. “They can feel our commitment, and we hope it creates an environment where every member of our community feels at home, like part of a family.

“This is why we have reached this milestone.”