Mizzou freshman class fewer than 5,000, report says

A new report from the vice provost for enrollment management says the freshman class at the University of Missouri will fall below 5,000 students for the coming year.

University of Missouri spokesperson Christian Basi said those numbers are continually updating until the start of the fall semester, so there is some leeway with the projection right now.

The report was issued after the May 1 national decision date for college choices.

“The cancellation and deposit activity is always very volatile around this date,” the report says.

The report says enrollment is down across the board, but overall, freshman enrollment fees of $300 have decreased by 1,470 compared to last year. They’ decreased 1,749 from two years ago.

Freshman applications have decreased by 866 from this time last year and have increased by 43 from two years ago.

Basi said the applications usually come in between September and November and in this case, before the campus protests in the fall.

The report compares resident and non-resident enrollment fees and applications.

Applications from non-residents have decreased by 902, but applications from Missouri residents have increased by 248.

Deposits have decreased by 887 for non-residents and 535 for residents.

African American applications are down 69 from last year and deposits have also decreased by 214. Hispanic applications have increased by 33 but the deposits are down by 71.

Graduate school applications have hit a three-year low. The number has decreased by 749 for this year and 1,140 from two years ago.

“With May 1 falling over the weekend, a number of cancellations that were submitted in the past two days are not included in this monthly report,” according to the Provost.

Students can still cancel their deposits over the summer, they just won’t be able to get a refund. They can also still put down a deposit over the summer as well, which is why Basi said those numbers can change come August.

We’ll be breaking down more numbers coming up at 5:00 p.m. on ABC17 News.