An Analysis of Fall Semester 1997 Enrollment
The University of Mississippi
This report provides information concerning fundamental aspects of student enrollment at The University of Mississippi in the Fall Semester 1997. It focuses primarily on changes in enrollment between Fall Semester 1996 and Fall Semester 1997. Where pertinent, however, references are made to enrollment trends across several years. The data contained in this report are drawn from the official University data tape concerning Fall Semester 1997 enrollment that will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning as part of their Management Information System.
CONTENTS
Section I: Enrollment Highlights (Composite)
Section II: Enrollment Highlights (Oxford Campus)
Section III: New and Readmitted Student Highlights
Section IV: First-time Full-time Freshmen, Drawing Power and Show Rate
Section V: Enrollment Highlights for the College of Liberal Arts and the Professional Schools
You are our 21st Visitor from 09/16/97.
SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS
The composite enrollment (Oxford, Medical Center, Tupelo, DeSoto, Jackson, and Special Classes) of The University of Mississippi is 13,168 for the Fall Semester 1997 and is the highest ever recorded. This represents a 2.9 percent increase or 370 students over Fall Semester 1996.
Headcount enrollment on the Oxford Campus of 10,534 increased +254 students or +2.5 percent. This increase was generated primarily by the third consecutive increase in entering freshman (+14 students or +0.8 percent) and an increase in the sophomore class (+157 students or +10.8 percent) resulting from an earlier increase in entering freshmen.
Off-campus enrollment at Tupelo, DeSoto, Jackson, and Special Classes increased by +54 students or +7.6 percent.
Black U. S. citizen enrollment reached a record high of 1,240 students (+84 students or + 7.3 percent).
Medical Center enrollment increased by +62 students or +3.4 percent to 1,867 students.
Graduate School enrollment in Oxford declined by -35 students or -2.1 percent, and enrollment in the School of Law decreased by -14 students or -2.7 percent.
In addition to the increase in the number of first-time full-time freshmen, the quality of the entering freshman class increased sharply from an average ACT score of 23.01 in the Fall Semester 1996 to an average ACT score of 23.31 in the Fall Semester 1997. This is the second consecutive year in which an increase in the average ACT score of the freshman class was exhibited.
The new McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College accepted 123 freshmen with an average ACT score of 31.5 and an average SAT score of 1370.
SECTION I
ENROLLMENT HIGHLIGHTS
THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI (COMPOSITE)
FALL 1997
OVERALL HEADCOUNT AND ENROLLMENT
The total headcount enrollment at all locations of the University stood at 13,168 students or a +2.9 percent increase from Fall Semester 1996.
The overall enrollment at the University in Fall Semester 1997 is the highest ever recorded. (Figure 1)
OXFORD CAMPUS
Total enrollment grew to 10,534 students or +2.5 percent above a similar figure for Fall Semester 1996.
Undergraduate enrollment grew by +303 students or +3.7 percent.
Graduate School enrollment in Oxford declined by -35 students or -2.1 percent.
Enrollment in the School of Law decreased by -14 students or -2.7 percent.
MEDICAL CENTER
Medical Center enrollment has grown by +236 students or +14.5 percent since 1992. (Figure 2)
TUPELO, DESOTO, JACKSON, AND SPECIAL CLASS HEADCOUNT ENROLLMENT
Combined off-campus headcount enrollment increased by +54 students or +7.6 percent. (Figure 3)
Enrollment of students at the DeSoto Center increased by +53 students or +34.9 percent.
Headcount enrollment at the Tupelo Campus increased by +10 students or +3.2 percent.
Jackson Campus enrollment (Jackson Engineering and graduate level education) decreased by -13 students or -12.7 percent.
Special Class enrollment remained relatively unchanged at 152.
SECTION II
ENROLLMENT HIGHLIGHTS
OXFORD CAMPUS
FALL 1997
HEADCOUNT AND FTE
The total headcount enrollment this fall is 10,534, an increase of +254 students or +2.5 percent. (Figure 4)
The number of full-time equivalent (FTE) students increased by +173 (+1.8 percent) to 9,837.
UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE/LAW
Undergraduate enrollment is 8,420, an increase of +303 students (+3.7 percent) from 8,117 last fall.(Figure 4)
Graduate enrollment (1,617 students) decreased by -35 students or -2.1 percent. Decreases occurred at both the master’s level (-41 students or -4.4 percent) and the other/unclassified category (-38 students or -22.4 percent); however, doctoral enrollment increased by +43 students or +7.9 percent.(Figure 5)
Law School enrollment decreased by -14 students or -2.7 percent. This decline was a result of a decrease in the first year class enrollment, from 222 to 173 students.(Figure 6)
RESIDENT/NON-RESIDENT
Overall resident enrollment increased (+263 students or +4.2 percent). Undergraduate resident students increased by +249 students (+4.9 percent), graduate resident students increased by +14 students (+1.8 percent), and law resident enrollment was unchanged.(Figure 7)
Within undergraduate resident student enrollment, freshmen increased by +49 students, sophomores increased by +89 students, juniors increased by +88 students, and seniors decreased by -15 students.
Enrollment increased in all three Mississippi regions — northern counties by +123 students or +3.1 percent, central counties by +95 students or +6.2 percent, and southern counties by +45 students or +5.4 percent.
Overall non-resident enrollment decreased by -9 students (-0.2 percent).
Non-resident undergraduate enrollment increased by +54 students (+1.8 percent) to 3,073.(Figure 7) Increases occurred in the freshman class (+51 students or +4.8 percent) and the sophomore class (+68 students or +11.5 percent), while decreases occurred in the junior class (-61 students or -9.4 percent) and the senior class (-13 students or -1.9 percent)
Non-resident graduate student enrollment decreased by -49 students (-5.7 percent), while non-resident law student enrollment decreased by -14 students or -19.2 percent.
FULL-TIME/PART-TIME
Full-time enrollment increased by +247 students (+2.7 percent) to 9,487. Undergraduate full-time enrollment increased by +318 students (+4.2 percent), while graduate full-time enrollment decreased by -57 students (-4.8 percent).
Part-time enrollment increased by +7 students (+0.7 percent) to 1,047.
The proportion of students who are full-time increased to 90.1 percent from 89.9 percent in Fall 1996.
MALE/FEMALE
Female enrollment increased by +206 students (+3.9 percent) to 5,479. This increase is part of a trend toward a greater proportion of female students evidenced in recent years.
Male enrollment increased by +48 students (+1.0 percent) to 5,055.
COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ENROLLMENT (UNDERGRADUATE)
Undergraduate enrollment increased in Liberal Arts (+45 students or +1.1 percent), Business (+130 students or +7.7 percent), Education (+61 students or +7.3 percent), Engineering (+67 students or +12.5 percent), and Accountancy (+53 students or +13.4 percent).
Undergraduate enrollment decreased in Pharmacy (-48 students or -12.8 percent).
GRADUATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
Overall graduate student enrollment decreased by -35 students or -2.1 percent to 1,617 students. (Figure 8)
Graduate student enrollment increased at the doctoral level by +43 students or +7.9 percent, while the master’s level decreased by -41 students or -4.4 percent and the other/unclassified category decreased by -38 students or -22.4 percent.
BLACK STUDENTS (U. S. CITIZENS)
Enrollment of Black U. S. citizens increased (+84 students or +7.3 percent) to 1,240 students, the highest enrollment on record.
Black student enrollment at the undergraduate level increased by +95 students or +11.6 percent to 911, an all time high enrollment.
Black student enrollment at the postbaccalaureate level (graduate and law) decreased by -11 students or -3.2 percent to 329 students.
Overall, 11.8 percent of the students enrolled at the University are Black U. S. citizens, the highest percentage on record.
FRESHMEN/SOPHOMORES/JUNIORS/SENIORS
Freshman class enrollment increased by +100 students or +4.5 percent from last fall.
(Figure 9A and Figure 9B)
Sophomore class enrollment increased by +157 students or +10.8 percent.
Junior class enrollment increased by +27 students or +1.5 percent.
Senior class enrollment decreased by -28 students (-1.2 percent).
FOREIGN STUDENTS
Foreign student enrollment decreased by -26 students (-5.3 percent) to 469 students.(Figure 10)
The percentage of the total student body that is foreign is 4.5 percent.
SECTION III
NEW AND READMITTED STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
OXFORD CAMPUS
FALL 1997
NEW UNDERGRADUATES
The number of new undergraduates increased from 2,452 to 2,562 students or +4.5 percent.
New undergraduate enrollment increased in the freshman class (+13 students), the sophomore class (+33 students), and the junior class (+50 students), while a decrease occurred in the senior class (-3 students).
New resident undergraduate enrollment increased by +58 students (+4.0 percent) from 1,459 to 1,517. New non-resident undergraduate enrollment increased by +52 students (+5.2 percent) from 993 to 1,045.
The enrollment of first-time full-time freshmen increased from 1,673 to 1,687 students. (see Section IV for a detailed discussion)
The average ACT score for the entering freshman class increased from 23.01 in Fall 1996 to 23.31 in Fall 1997.(Figure 11)
New full-time transfer students increased by +90 students or +13.3 percent to 768 students. (Figure 12) This represents the highest number of new full-time transfer students since 1991.
NEW GRADUATES
New graduate enrollment decreased by -61 students (-14.7 percent) from 414 to 353.(Figure 13) An analysis of this decrease by program will be conducted early in the Fall Semester.
In the past two years (Fall 1996 and Fall 1997) enrollment of new graduate students has decreased by -106 students or -23.1 percent.
New resident graduate students decreased by -39 students (-20.4 percent) from 191 to 152.
New master’s level students decreased by -41 students (-15.4 percent) from 266 to 225.
NEW LAW STUDENTS
The number of new students entering the School of Law this fall decreased by -47 students (-24.6 percent). This year’s first year class, along with the first year class of 1993, has the lowest enrollment recorded in the past 16 years.(Figure 6)
New resident Law School enrollment decreased by -20 students (-14.6 percent), and new non-resident law enrollment decreased by -27 students (-50.0 percent).
READMITTED STUDENTS
The number of readmitted students at the undergraduate level increased from 323 in Fall 1996 to 345 in Fall 1997. At the graduate level, the number of readmitted students decreased from 92 in Fall 1996 to 72 in Fall 1997.(Figure 14)
SECTION IV
FIRST-TIME FULL-TIME FRESHMEN
DRAWING POWER AND SHOW RATE
OXFORD CAMPUS
FALL 1997
OVERALL
The enrollment of first-time full-time freshmen increased from 1,673 to 1,687 (+14 students or +0.8 percent).
First-time full-time non-resident enrollment increased by +66 students or +8.5 percent, while first-time full-time resident enrollment decreased by -52 students or -5.8 percent.
The institution’s drawing power decreased from 0.0351 to 0.0329. The central counties had the only increase (0.0323 to 0.0346).(Table I)
The overall show rate of new freshmen (the proportion of applicants who ultimately enroll) increased from 39.9 percent in Fall 1996 to 41.5 percent in Fall 1997.(Table II) Part of this can be attributed to the lower number of non-resident applications caused by the initiation of a fee for this process.
RESIDENT FIRST-TIME FULL-TIME FRESHMEN
Resident first-time full-time freshmen decreased by -52 students or -5.8 percent to 845 students. (Figure 15)
The number of first-time full-time freshmen from the northern counties decreased by -12.8 percent, the central counties increased by +5.6 percent, and the southern counties decreased by -5.9 percent.(Figure 15 and Figure 16)
Among the more notable changes were those from Lee County (+16 students or +59.3 percent), Forrest County (+11 students or +100.0 percent), Alcorn County (+9 students or +180.0 percent), Tate County (+10 students or +166.7 percent), Yazoo County (+9 students or +128.6 percent), Leflore County (-9 students or -64.3 percent), Washington County (-9 students or -40.9 percent), DeSoto County (-19 students or -39.6 percent), and Lafayette County (-25 students or -25.5 percent).
NON-RESIDENT FIRST-TIME FULL-TIME FRESHMEN
The enrollment of non-resident first-time full-time freshmen (842 students) increased by +66 students or +8.5 percent.(Figure 17) Ole Miss continues to have a significant representation of students from other states.(Figure 19)
Significant enrollment changes of first-time full-time freshmen from the states in our immediate area took place in Alabama (+18 students or +23.7 percent), Florida (-14 students or -42.4 percent), Tennessee (+23 students or +14.0 percent), and Georgia (+18 students or +34.6 percent).
The combined enrollment from our four border states increased by +25 students or +5.7 percent. (Figure 15 and Figure 18)
The proportion of first-time full-time freshmen who are non-residents increased to 49.9 percent from 46.4 percent last fall.
DRAWING POWER
Statewide, the drawing power (the decimal fraction of first-time full-time freshmen at Ole Miss divided by the previous year’s 12th grade public school enrollment) decreased from 0.0351 in Fall 1996 to 0.0329 in Fall 1997.(Table I)
SHOW RATE
This fall the undergraduate show rate (the rate at which applicants ultimately enroll at the University) increased from 43.2 percent to 45.8 percent, the highest since Fall 1991. (Table II)
The Graduate School show rate decreased from 24.8 percent to 21.2 percent.
The Law School show rate decreased from 18.2 percent to 12.6 percent.
Declines in graduate and law entering students can be primarily traced to those decreases in the proportion of students applying who eventually enroll or “show rate” for these categories.
SECTION V
ENROLLMENT HIGHLIGHTS
FOR THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
OXFORD CAMPUS
FALL 1997
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
Total undergraduate enrollment increased by +45 students (+1.1 percent) to 4,270.( Figure 20A and TableIII).
Graduate enrollment decreased by -31 students (-4.6 percent) to 640 students.
New undergraduate enrollment increased by +22 students (+1.5 percent) to 1,469 students.
Total College of Liberal Arts enrollment is 4,910 students, an increase of +14 students or +0.3 percent from Fall 1996.
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Total undergraduate enrollment increase by +130 students or + 7.7 percent to 1,820 students.
Graduate enrollment decreased by -76 students (-36.0 percent) to 135 students. The majority of this decrease was a result of a decline in new graduate enrollment (-40 students or -72.7 percent).
New undergraduate enrollment increased by +62 students or +14.9 percent to 479 students.
Total enrollment in the School of Business is 1,955, which is +54 students or +2.8 percent more than Fall 1996.
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Total undergraduate enrollment increased by +61 students or +7.3 percent to 896 students. (Figure 20B)
Total graduate level enrollment increased by +61 students or +13.7 percent; however, new graduate enrollment decreased by -13 students or -12.3 percent to 93 students.
Overall School of Education enrollment is 1,403, an increase of +122 students or +9.5 percent from Fall 1996.
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Total undergraduate enrollment increased by +67 students or +12.5 percent to 604 students.
Graduate enrollment decreased slightly by -3 students or -1.8 percent to 160 students.
Overall enrollment in the School of Engineering increased to 764 students, an increase of +64 students or +9.1 percent.
SCHOOL OF PHARMACY
Undergraduate enrollment in the School of Pharmacy decreased by -48 students or -12.8 percent to 327 students. (Figure 20C)
Graduate level enrollment decreased by -3 students or -4.5 percent to 63 students.
Overall enrollment in the School of Pharmacy decreased by -51 students or -11.6 percent to a total of 390 students.
SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY
Total undergraduate enrollment increased to 450 students, an increase of +53 students or +13.4 percent.
Graduate enrollment increased by +19 students or +20.4 percent to 112 students.
New undergraduate enrollment increased by +22 students or +23.7 percent to 115 students.
Total School of Accountancy enrollment increased to 562 students (+72 students or +14.7 percent).
SCHOOL OF LAW
Law School enrollment decreased by -14 students or -2.7 percent to 497 students.