Graduate enrollment this semester has increased compared to the spring 2002 semester, according to data released last week by the Office of Budget and Planning.
Total graduate enrollment is up 4 percent this semester, bringing the total number of graduate students to 4,482. A rise in new degree-seeking graduate students fueled the increase.
The colleges of business administration, engineering, veterinary medicine and mass communication showed the largest increases among all colleges at the University.
David Shields, director of the Flores MBA program, said their marketing of the program was a factor in the student increase.
“We’ve revamped our marketing strategy three times since I’ve been here,” Shields said.
The College of Business Administration’s graduate enrollment increased from 304 full-time students in 2001-2002 to 368 full-time students in 2002-2003, a 21 percent increase.
Pamela Monroe, associate dean of the graduate school, said the increase during the spring semester is a positive sign for the University.
“Fall is traditionally the time when students come, and there is usually a drop-off in the spring,” Monroe said.
The results are indicative of the push last fall to increase graduate enrollment, Monroe said.
Shields said although the MBA program has increased its enrollment, it has grown less than it could have. The program increased to full capacity last fall and cannot continue to increase enrollment.
As a result, the application rate has risen, while the acceptance rate has declined.
“We’ve gone from a 40 percent acceptance rate to a 20 percent acceptance rate,” Shields said.
He said the MBA program also has benefitted from an unlikely source — the economic downturn.
Students are not giving up much by leaving the job market during a downturn, Shields said. Compared to the late 1990s, when everyone was getting good jobs, attracting students to graduate school was more difficult.
Monroe said the shift in budget priorities and the new money available for graduate students also helped increase those numbers.
The College of Engineering made the largest graduate student increase, up 100 students from the previous spring, an increase of 28 percent. The Manship School of Mass Communication increased 26 percent, and the School of Veterinary Medicine jumped 25 percent.
Undergraduate data showed little change from the spring 2002 numbers.
The 24,487 undergraduate students this spring is 195 students fewer than the number who attended the University in spring 2002, a decrease of only 1 percent.
The Office of Budget and Planning’s data indicated more continuing undergraduate students are attending the University this spring compared to last spring, suggesting better retention rates for undergraduate students.
“I think we’re getting the word out,” Monroe said. “We’re reinvigorated for excellence.”