SFA has recorded a spring 2017 enrollment of 11,639, an increase from this past spring of almost 1 percent. Enrollment in Spring 2016 was 11,545.
"While we are always happy to see an increase, we are particularly glad to see that new student enrollment has increased at both the undergraduate and graduate level," said Monique Cossich, executive director of enrollment management. "New undergraduate enrollment - including first-year and transfer students - is up 3.2 percent, and new graduate student enrollment is up 3 percent."
Enrollments increased in the following colleges: Business, up from 1,626 to 1,669; Fine Arts, up from 823 to 838; Forestry and Agriculture, up from 664 to 710; and Sciences and Mathematics, up from 2,060 to 2,130. Enrollments declined in the College of Education, from 3,895 to 3,866, and in Liberal and Applied Arts, from 2,477 to 2,426.
Increased admission standards were initiated in the fall of 2012. Since that time, the average ACT score of first-year students has increased from 21.4 to 21.9. The state average is 20.6. Due to changes in the format of the SAT, comparisons during this time period are not valid.
Additionally, the fall 2016 first-time undergraduate retention rate of 71.4 was the highest in university history.
"This represents an 8 percentage point increase during the past five years," said Dr. Steve Bullard, provost and vice president of academic affairs. "Retention is an important factor in enrollment and a good indicator of student success."
Axe ’Em, Jacks!