Hannah Robinson
Hwood3@uwyo.edu
First-year student enrollment at the University of Wyoming increased compared to previous years, while outreach courses saw a decline in enrollment.
Anne Alexander, associate vice president of academic affairs, said these occurences are not separate from each other.
“Degree programs online also hit a cap because of the fact we had to shift capacity back to campus to accommodate the higher numbers of first-time freshmen,” Alexander said. “That’s another reason for outreach dipping.”
The increase of freshmen enrollment tallies at 7.8 percent from fall 2014 to the current semester. The overall increase is 122 this year; from fall 2013 to fall 2014 there was a decrease of eight freshman students at UW.
Despite the robust increase in overall first-time college students, the dorms saw an increase of only 55 students when compared to fall 2014 numbers. Any increase in the next few years should be relatively easy to accommodate, Executive Director of Residence Life and Dining Services Eric Webb said.
“We have more residence hall space than we need,” Webb said. “We’re one dorm hall long and we have been since the 1980s, we definitely still have some potential.”
The increase has been accommodated academically by opening 25 additional sections of first-year seminars, and math, English and STEM courses, Alexander said.
The large class sizes and first-year seminar are not a problem for undeclared Freshman Paige Bailey.
“I enjoy the larger class sizes because I can meet new people everyday,” Bailey said.
While there was an increase of 122 in enrollment, there is potential for these numbers to decrease throughout the year.
“On average we do have about 150 that move out throughout the year,” Webb said. “Some go on to live in the Greek houses or they decide that UW isn’t for them.”
Students leaving college before they obtain a degree is typical, Alexander said, explaining the difference between high freshmen enrollment compared to smaller junior and senior level enrollment.
“There are a lot of reasons for students not to retain year-over-year,” Alexander said. “Sometimes it’s personal—they need time to attend to family issues, they want to work and save up money, they want to go on and do something else for a year or more.”
Although there may be a variety of reasons for not matriculating, there are many resources to be found on campus, Bailey said.
“My favorite part about UW is all the help from every direction,” Bailey said. “Being a freshman is hard, knowing how to use your resources here can help you find a path you would love to be on.”
Webb said he hopes to see the enrollment increase in small increments every year.
“We don’t want huge or large changes right away,” Webb said, “but we do want small incremental growth throughout the coming years.”
