MU freshman enrollment up 13 percent in 2018
The University of Missouri announced its final enrollment numbers for fall 2018 on Friday, saying freshman enrollment was up 13 percent from 2017 numbers.
MU touted the increase as one of the highest among schools in the Southeastern Conference in a news release announcing the numbers. Officials also said it was the second-highest jump in freshman enrollment in the past 25 years.
Only one other SEC school, LSU, reported a double-digit increase in freshman enrollment, MU said.
“Enrollment increases like this do not happen by accident, and I would like to express my gratitude to our many faculty, staff, alumni and friends who made this achievement possible,” Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said in the release. “Mizzou is nearly 180 years old, and these numbers show me that our commitment and efforts to prepare the university for the future are paying off.”
UM System curators met Thursday and Friday in Kansas City, and UM System President Mun Choi cited a partnership with branding agency 160over90 as a reason for success.
“The 13 percent enrollment increase this year is a very positive step, and … the sentiment not only of our alumni, but of elected officials who believe that we now have leadership at the university that really cares about the success of our students and the success of Missourians,” Choi said.
This comes one month after the university Chancellor Alexander Cartwright said the university was seeing its highest student retention rate in MU’s history.
“Our residence halls are almost at full capacity, with 29 percent more returning students living on campus,” Cartwright said during an August address. “Diversity in our freshman class is up this year.”
Officials also credit new scholarships and affordability initiatives for the increase.
The new class is also among the most diverse in school history, with increases in minority student enrollment, officials said. Incoming freshmen also scored well on the ACT, and nearly nine out of 10 freshmen from last year returned to the campus this fall, officials said.
ABC 17 News fact checked Cartwright’s statements about enrollment, retention and diversity rates last month and found that despite the increase, it’s the lowest enrollment the school has seen since 2007, more than 11 years ago.
Enrollment numbers dropped sharply after the 2015-2016 year. The fall of 2015 saw protests and administrative battles that led to the resignations of the UM System president and the Columbia campus chancellor. The fallout led to fights over funding in the state legislature, as well.
