Maine Perspective Front Page
Enrollment Up for the Third Consecutive Year
For the third consecutive year, the number of students choosing to enroll at the University is rising sharply, with the group beginning classes in September currently 30 percent ahead of last year's class at this same time.
In keeping with national and regional trends, the number of applicants to UMaine is on the rise, but University officials are noticing that a greater percentage of those who are accepted at UMaine are choosing to attend college in Orono.
"There are several reasons why our enrollments are gaining, including demographics," says John Beacon, UMaine's dean of Enrollment Management. "But clearly President (Peter) Hoff's visits to high schools around the state have helped. His meetings with students, teachers, guidance counselors and principals have created a greater appreciation of the value of a UMaine education and the breadth of opportunities that exist at our Orono campus.
"A lot of credit also goes to our own students, who often are our best ambassadors and student recruiters."
The class that enrolled in fall 1997 numbered 1,200 students. Since then, the increases have been dramatic - 1,451 in 1998 (a 21 percent increase over 1997) and 1,647 in 1999 (a 19 percent increase over 1998).
When classes begin in September, this fall's class is expected to reflect an increase similar to last year's.
The number of incoming students who plan to live in UMaine residence halls is also significantly higher than it was a year ago. So far, 42 percent more new students have confirmed their plans to live on campus next fall, as compared to a similar date a year ago.
UMaine's overall student population has risen from 9,213 in fall 1997 to 9,945 this academic year.
Hoff has set an enrollment goal of 11,000 students - a student population which can be handled by the University's current infrastructure.
Academic qualifications of the incoming class show that the growth continues to be managed without compromising standards. Traditional measures, such as SAT scores and the percentage of students who are near the top of their high school classes, compare favorably to those of a year ago.
UMaine is also seeing an increase in on-line applications, with almost 17 percent of the current year's applications arriving via the Web.
"Admissions has moved to a recruitment function from the 'gatekeeper' function of the '60s and '70s when UMaine always knew students would come, and the role was to admit or deny entry. Today, it's essential to bring UMaine's recruitment effort into the information age. The best and brightest students are on-line, and they want to know if we are," says Jonathan Henry, UMaine's director of Admissions.
While the admissions process continues for the class that will enroll in the fall, UMaine is also working on developing the incoming class for September 2001. More than 1,000 prospective UMaine students and their families were on campus April 17 for an Admissions Showcase open house, intended for those who are considering applying to UMaine.
That event, the largest Admissions Showcase UMaine has ever hosted, featured a variety of workshops and presentations with specific information about the University, its services and its programs.