MU could see another enrollment increase

MU's rising admissions are not common among Big 12 schools.

By John Henry

Published Nov. 14, 2008

Admission figures released this month suggest MU could replicate last year's record freshman class, though admissions officials say it's still too early to know for sure.

According to the first of 10 monthly enrollment reports, the number of freshman applicants has increased by 49 percent for the Fall 2009 semester compared to this time last year. The number of freshmen admitted for next year has risen by about 45 percent.

Admissions Director Barbara Rupp said no single factor is responsible for recent applicant increases. She said MU's reputable colleges, its campus, improved Web site and increase in football-related publicity could all be of influence.

Nonetheless, she said it would be premature to assume the data from the current report will translate into the same record enrollment increases observed last year.

"A lot of our applications could be what they call 'front loaded,' meaning students just applied earlier," Rupp said. "They would have applied anyway, but they did so earlier because they heard we closed admissions last June or they heard about the housing shortage."

According to the report, by early December the university predicts it will be able to tell if students applied earlier or if there are more people applying than last year.

MU's increase in applicants is not a common trend among other Big 12 schools. Rupp said she learned last week at a Big 12 Admissions Officers meeting that MU is the only public institution in the conference to observe an increase in the number of applicants for the Fall 2009 semester.

This information comes as the report also showed black and Hispanic applicants have increased significantly. Rupp said she believes more minorities are applying to MU as they see other minority students become comfortable on campus.

Increased minority enrollment "is something we felt has been a need for many, many years," Rupp said.

MU also witnessed a significant increase in the number of out-of-state applicants from Illinois and Texas. Rupp said the university has specifically targeted students from those states because it expects the number of Missouri high school graduates to drop severely by 2012.

Rupp said out-of-state students are no longer attracted to MU only for its journalism program.

Tour Team Member Christopher Castro said he notices more out-of-state students interested in fields like business or biology.

"I'm getting a lot more Illinois and I have heard some Texas," Castro said. "It's surprising that not all of them are journalism, which is something I would expect them to be."

Undergraduate Studies Vice Provost Jim Spain said enrollment growth plays a role in how the university acclimates new students. He said his office wants to make sure all students have access to the services they are entitled to.

"As we expand our student enrollment, one of the challenges that we have is to make sure is we are communicating as effectively as we can to this larger student population, and making sure that all of those students are aware of all of those different opportunities," Spain said.

MU's growth might also attract more faculty to the university.

Spain said MU's record enrollment, the success of the For All We Call Mizzou fundraising campaign and events like the journalism school's centennial make current faculty proud. He said when faculty attend national conventions, they can give other faculty members exciting news about what is happening at MU.

"Those things will tend to attract folks who may have not been aware of us," Spain said.