October 11, 2004

Enrollment at Record High; UA Recruits for 2005

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The 92 National Merit, National Achievement and National Hispanic Scholars are among UA's "Best and Brightest." (photo: Laura Shill)

by Cathy Andreen

Enrollment at The University of Alabama is at an all-time high of 20,969 students this fall, with both the entering freshman class and new graduate students representing some of the largest and best qualified classes in UA history.

Total enrollment is up 3.2 percent, or 636 students, over fall 2003.

"We were able to produce an increase in enrollment while simultaneously increasing student quality," said UA President Robert E. Witt. He noted that the typical freshman admitted to the University this fall was in the top quarter of his or her high school class and new graduate students had excellent undergraduate credentials.

UA scholars working on their new laptops

UA's National Merit, National Achievement and National Hispanic Scholars received thier new laptops earlier this fall.

The freshman class numbers 3,364, up 9.4 percent over last year, and represents the second largest freshman class in UA history and the largest in over 15 years. The class includes some 583 students who are enrolled in the Honors College — an increase of 35 percent from 2003. Some 92 National Merit, National Achievement and National Hispanic Scholars are members of the class, up from 50 last year. In addition, the class includes the first scholarship recipients under the National Alumni Association's new Alumni Scholar Awards program, which provides scholarships to freshmen who are children or grandchildren of a UA graduate and who have scored a 25 or above on the ACT.

Graduate student enrollment, totaling 4,398, is up 5.2 percent over fall 2003. Dr. Ron Rogers, dean of the graduate school, reports that the new class of graduate students, on average, earned a 3.3 GPA on their undergraduate work and a 3.7 on previous graduate work. They scored an average 502 on the GRE-Verbal, a 604 on the GRE-Quantitative (including more than 20 who scored a perfect 800 on this section), and 584 on the GMAT.

"The class boasts two UA seniors who were named to last year's USA Today Academic All-American team," Rogers said.

Recruiting for 2005

As the freshmen of 2004 settle into life on the UA campus, the Office of Enrollment Management is actively recruiting next year's entering students.

Applications for freshman admission to UA rose 25 percent from 2002 to 2004. Total applications for 2004 numbered 9,123, the highest in UA history, and Dr. Roger Thompson, assistant vice president for enrollment management, says efforts are under way to increase that number for 2005. Recruitment highlights to date include:

Mailing full packets of information to more than 900 high schools across Alabama and the Southeast, and mailing recruitment DVDs and smaller packets to an additional 250 high schools.
Mailing information about the University Libraries' new high school digital library resource available on the Web to high school principals and counselors and to more than 86,000 parents of high school students. An e-mail about the resource went to almost 58,000 prospective students.
Mailing "Apply Now" postcards to high school seniors and postcards about visiting UA to high school sophomores and juniors.
Beginning a strategic direct mail campaign that will "flood" high school students' mailboxes with UA materials.
Establishing a high school advisory board and bringing that group to campus for updates and meetings with current students from their high schools.
Offering online chats with prospective students.
Conducting briefings for high school counselors in cities throughout Alabama.
Admission counselors working college fairs and conducting private visits to schools throughout the state.
Updating the Admissions website.
Sponsoring game day events that bring high school students from specific areas of the state to campus for a program and an Alabama football game.
Working with an advisory board of alumni to assist in recruiting.
Planning receptions for Honors-eligible students in Huntsville, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and Mobile.
Planning out-of-state receptions for Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Pensacola and New Orleans.

In addition, recruiters have been hired for key out-of-state areas. These UA representatives will be based in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and Florida to provide full-time admissions efforts in those key areas.

"We have been able to make the recruiting process at The University of Alabama a very personal process," Witt noted in his recent State of the University address. "Roger Thompson and his staff in enrollment services are to be commended for an extraordinary effort, but the faculty and staff and the student body of this University should also be commended because the success of our recruiting effort has not rested on enrollment services alone."

That combined effort will continue to be an important factor as UA recruits for 2005, 2006 and beyond.

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