Freshman Diversity, Total Enrollment at MU Break Records

MU opens for first day of classes with number of African Americans, Hispanics up more than 14 percent

August 24th, 2009

COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri started classes today for the fall 2009 semester, welcoming another large freshman class while experiencing record enrollments for minority student groups, including African Americans and Hispanics. On the first day of class, MU officials welcomed 484 African-American freshmen, up 14.7 percent from 422 last year, and 152 Hispanic freshmen, up 16 percent from 131 last year. Overall, the university’s first-day enrollment totals 30,831, while the number of undergraduates is 23,659. Both total and undergraduate enrollment numbers are the highest in the history of the university.

“Increasing the diversity on our campus has been our goal for several years,” said Ann Korschgen, vice provost for enrollment management. “With great work from many across campus, including our dedicated enrollment management team, we have seen those numbers rise steadily over the last several years. We are thrilled at this growth, and we are committed to helping all of our students have a successful college career while preparing them to be future leaders of our state and nation.”

This year’s freshman enrollment is the second highest in MU’s history, Korschgen said. Today’s freshman enrollment is 5,620, 192 fewer students than last year’s record-breaking class, but 593 more than two years ago.

“The focus across campus has been on ensuring student success, which is reflected in the record retention rate of 85.4 percent of our 5,800 freshmen who enrolled last year,” Korschgen said. “We are very pleased that these students are staying at MU!”

This year’s mean ACT score, a measure of the quality of this year’s freshman class, is 25.6, the highest in eight years. The state average ACT score is 21.6. The national average is 21.1.

“Not only is our enrollment increasing, but the quality and diversity of our students is increasing as well,” Korschgen said. “This demonstrates to us that Mizzou continues to be the top choice for scholars throughout the state.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Please see attached table. Official enrollment figures will be available after the 20th day of classes.

University of Missouri
First day enrollment statistics 2009

	Fall 2008	Fall 2009	Difference
First-Time Freshmen	5,812*	5,620	-192/-3.3%
African-American Freshmen	422	484*	+62/+14.7%
Hispanic Freshmen	131	152*	+21/16%
Undergraduate students	22,822	23,659*	+837/+3.7%
Graduate students	5,811	6,018	+207/+3.6%
Mean ACT (freshman class)	25.5	25.6	+.01/+0.3%
Retention Rate	85.2%	85.4%*	+0.2%
Total Enrollment	29,761	30,831*	+1,070/+3.6

* indicates record figure