In spite of difficult economic times in the country, UMM has maintained a stable enrollment. The incoming freshman class is approximately the same size as last year. Retention efforts also appear to be paying off with as many students continuing this year from last year as in the past.
New UMM students were volunteers in their community, active in their high school bands and choirs, played a varsity sport (with nearly a third being a team captain), and also participated in speech and debate. Over a third were members of the National Honors Society. Nearly half of the Class of 2006 came from outstate Minnesota, while another 38% came from the Twin Cities metro area.
While final enrollment figures will not be available for several weeks, the tentative figures put UMM at 1911 students, significantly above the average for the past five years, yet down approximately 1% from last year. The incoming freshman class holds 476 students, compared to 483 last year. The academic quality of this year's freshmen class is slightly higher than last year's. The average high school rank for this year's entering freshmen is 83 percentile while last year it was 82 percentile. A record number of students applied for admission to this year's class. This year's class also continues a tradition of diversity with 16% of new freshmen being students of color.
Efforts to retain students to graduation have improved rates on the campus. Although UMM leads the University of Minnesota in retention rates, officials are seeking to improve them even more. The number of students continuing from year to year has remained stable, indicating a healthy pattern of progression toward degree completion.
John F. Schwaller, vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean, said that "UMM can be proud of the high quality of students we have attracted. The fact that we have maintained a solid enrollment in a time of economic uncertainty indicates that people recognize the importance of a quality liberal arts education." UMM has consistently been ranked as one of the leading public liberal arts colleges in the nation. In the most recent rankings of U. S. News and World Report, UMM was ranked fourth nationally among public liberal arts colleges.
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Last Modified Tuesday, February 01, 2005
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