MU official freshman enrollment up, overall figure down

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

More freshmen chose the University of Missouri this year than last year, but overall enrollment dropped slightly in the official fall semester enrollment count.

First-time freshman enrollment is 5,139 this semester -- a 3.1% increase from last year's official fall semester count. Overall enrollment sits at 31,041, a drop of less than 1% compared to last year's 31,318 enrollment.

Undergraduate enrollment dropped 0.5% and graduate enrollment dropped 3.5%. However, professional enrollment -- consisting of the law, medicine and veterinary medicine programs -- increased 3.2%.

Retention was at a record high 91.3% this fall, compared with 88.6% last year.

University leaders have taken steps to increase enrollment in recent years after a large drop that started after campuswide protests in 2015. Higher education leaders have also pointed to changing demographics resulting in fewer high-school graduates.