Eastern Michigan University celebrates mostly positive enrollment news
As Eastern Michigan University welcomes freshmen to campus this weekend, administrators are celebrating mostly positive enrollment trends.
So far, the undergrad numbers look very positive, said Bernice Lindke, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management.
Students will soon be filling the Halle Library on the Eastern University campus as classes get under way next week.
File photo
As of Friday morning, EMU had 2,079 freshmen enrolled for this fall. That’s 102 more than had registered last year at the same time, though Lindke noted that classes are starting about a week earlier this year than last, so that might skew the comparison.
The university has enrolled about 18,000 undergraduate students, over 200 more than last year at this time. Lindke said the numbers will continue to climb a bit, even after classes start next Wednesday.
Graduate enrollment stood at 4,565, compared to 4,660 at the same time last year. “The new graduate students are looking positive, but returning graduate student numbers are down a bit,” Lindke said.
About 12,600 prospective students submitted applications for this fall, about 25 percent more than last year. The increase is a testament to the university’s stepped-up recruiting efforts, Lindke said.
“We had more effort. We had different recruiting and more marketing,’’ she said, noting that for a time EMU waived the $20 application fee.
Lindke said EMU is also seeing more applicants with grade point averages in the 3.5 to 4.0 range, though she noted the overall average GPA of admitted freshmen is likely to stay around 3.1 or slightly above.
EMU expects to continue working hard to recruit students in future years, Lindke said. She noted that the number of high school graduates in Michigan is on a downward trend and will continue to decline for the next several years.
“We have to work a little harder for that entering class.”
Meanwhile, EMU has a variety of activities planned to welcome freshman to campus this weekend. Residence hall move-in started on Saturday, and the university planned a picnic and other activities. Lindke said about 5,000 students, parents and other family members are expected.
“It’s just a real festive weekend,” she said.
Comments
TV
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 10:39 p.m.
Very happy to have attended EMU. After having received 3 BAs and an MA, I could count on one hand the number of courses taught by someone who did not have a doctorate. This university provides an incredible value and service, in my opinion any good news is well-deserved.
Mae Dell Van
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 6:20 p.m.
102 more undergraduate students + 95 less graduate students = "mostly positive"? Actually seems DISAPPOINTING, considering EMU's "0/0/0%" campaign in 2010 and this year's 3.65% increase. Since the VP of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management mentions such brilliant and strategic initiatives as waiving application fees, can she also address EMU's retention issues a graduation rate of about 40%? Or, can aa.com consider this as story?
Mae Dell Van
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 10:48 p.m.
How Graduation Rates Shape College Choice January 12, 2011, 12:10 am By Eric Hoover Graduation rates matter to politicians and college presidents. But how much do they matter to parents of prospective applicants? Quite a bit, according to a report on a study released today by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Recently, two researchers at the institute designed a survey to determine how graduation rates shape consumers' perceptions of colleges. In the experiment, one group of parents received basic facts (including costs and selectivity) about two public colleges in their state; the other group received the same information, as well as the graduation rates for each institution. Providing graduation rates, the researchers found, increased the likelihood (by about 15 percentage points) that parents would choose the college with the higher graduation rate. Moreover, such information was most likely to influence the choices of parents who had relatively low incomes and little admissions savvy. More-affluent parents were less likely to change their preferences based on information about graduation rates. Andrew P. Kelly, a research fellow at the institute and a co-author of the report, said the results affirm the importance of providing families with clear data that can be used to compare colleges. "It's heartening, to some extent, that these findings are the way that they are," Mr. Kelly said. "The college-completion agenda is not about high-achieving students with well-off parents. It's about guiding students who typically lag behind."
TV
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 10:42 p.m.
Seriously, why are you concerned with graduation rates? All that means is that they give everyone a chance but hold them all to real standards.
Blerg
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 8:46 p.m.
Actually, the article states, "The university has enrolled about 18,000 undergraduate students, over 200 more than last year at this time. " So, it's 200 more undergrads, not 102.
InsideTheHall
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 5:57 p.m.
Two things: 1) Applications were up at all colleges as the universal application was implemented this year making it is easy to apply to multiple institutions.. 2) EMU is benefitting from the depressed economy as students are trending towards commuting to save money.
Lovaduck
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.
Hidden rule in Ann Arbor--there can be no mention of EMU no matter how positive, without some vicious negative remarks. Too bad, the school is highly rated by the Princeton Review and is, as it has been for 40 years, going ahead! GO EMU!
A2Woman
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 7:01 p.m.
Agreed, Lovaduck! Eastern Michigan University's College of Business has been included among "The Best 300 Business Schools" for 2011, according to the Princeton Review. This is the seventh straight year for this recognition for the COB. I have a junior at EMU, and have been delighted with the quality education she has received. The COB will be her second "home" these next two years. GO EMU!
catfishrisin
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 3:02 p.m.
Eastern needs those warm bodies to continue to subsidize their losing football team by grabbing some of the "student fees" that add to the cost of an education beyond the cost of tuition.
lumberg48108
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 1:12 p.m.
what is the style rule for anarbor .com regarding the proper use of "over" ... I have read it used correctly and incorrecty for years --- Paula G will tell you she knows the rule and sometime forgets AP style will tell you "over" has many meanings, but mostly used as a designation of space (over the rainbow) etc ...."the plane flew over the island" mathamtically there is no "over" -- it is "more than"; "less than" or "equal to" advertising and slang have trained us to think otherwise and there is a movement by many in grammar to push the acceptance but "over" but the use in media of "over" should be correct stylistically - and consistently "It's no easy feat mastering the rules of news writing, especially the nearly 400-page AP Stylebook. Editors often update the guide to reflect new changes in style and to stay current with trends. Most recently, the book announced it changed "e-mail" to "email," a move that followed last year's union of "Web site" to "website." From an online garmmar post: Following are some of the more common blunders (in no particular order) and some simple tricks to make sure your writing is buttoned AP stylish. 1. More than, over. More than is preferred with numbers, while over generally refers to spatial elements. The company has more than 25 employees; The cow jumped over the moon."
lumberg48108
Mon, Aug 29, 2011 : 2:30 a.m.
actually yes --- that is what style is - being consistent so a publication does not vary on matters and many publictaions adhere to its own style and knowing break rules --- that is why style rule books are created --- my question remains - what is the style of annarbor.com in this instence?
Red Barber
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 7:43 p.m.
Stay consistent even if it's wrong? No wonder so many people are confused about language usage. All I'm saying is that 'over' does in fact have the sense of "more than". For a writer (columnist or what have you) to not use it in that sense because some style guide says (incorrectly) that it does not have that sense seems, to me, silly.
lumberg48108
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 7:18 p.m.
but what is AP Style? and .com style there are reasons - valid or not - for everything in language but we stay consistent and have a style
Red Barber
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
I don't think advertising and slang are to blame. Instead, the American newspaper tradition stands in error. The error can be traced to William Cullen Bryant, and he never offered justification for his claim that 'over' cannot have the sense of "more than". "Over in the sense of "more than" has been used in English since the 14th century... There is no reason why you need to avoid this usage." – Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage. "expressing greater number" – New Oxford American Dictionary "More than in degree, quantity, or extent" – The American Heritage College Dictionary
xmo
Sun, Aug 28, 2011 : 1:11 p.m.
Hooray for Eastern!