Campus Connection

First-year student enrollment is highest in nearly three decades

UW-La Crosse has the largest group of new first-year students on campus in nearly three decades. The campus has 2,086 new first-year students this fall — the largest class since fall 1987. The total number of first-year students is up 1.6 percent from 2,054 in fall 2015. This is also the most diverse first-year freshman class, notes Corey Sjoquist, UWL director of admissions. U.S. students of color comprise 11.3 percent of the incoming first-year class, compared to 10.4 percent last year. UWL is thrilled to see continued, steady enrollment growth in the first-year class and an increasingly diverse study body, says UWL Chancellor Joe Gow. “UWL remains a top destination for Wisconsin students, and students from other states and countries continue to enroll in impressive numbers as well,” says Gow. “The fact that we have such strong interest in attending UWL is a powerful confirmation of the extraordinary work our staff and faculty are doing each day.” UWL recruitment efforts have been successful because of UWL’s quality academic programs and the opportunities for students to work closely with dedicated faculty and staff. Students also want to be part of the “active, driven, engaged and welcoming campus community,” says Sjoquist.

Total enrollment is also up

UWL’s total undergraduate and graduate student enrollment of 10,546 is also up from last year. Total enrollment increased 1.3 percent from 10,408 in fall 2015. UWL’s record enrollment of 10,558 was in fall 2014. U.S. students of color comprise 9.3 percent of UWL's student body, an increase from 8.7 percent last year. In addition to increasing new first-year students, part of the reason UWL’s total enrollment is up from last year is because of retention of first-year students into their sophomore year, says Natalie Solverson, UWL’s director of Institutional Research. About 86 percent of new first-year students who began at UWL in fall 2015 came back for their second year, compared to 84 percent the previous year — from fall 2014 to fall 2015. This is above the national retention rate, which was 80.3 percent for public, four-year institutions, according to the most recent statistic available through a UW System Accountability Dashboard. Sandy Grunwald, UWL interim associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, explains that promoting student success resources such as tutoring and academic advising may have contributed to the bump in UWL's retention rate. UWL faculty and staff launched an effort to promote these student resources widely as part of the university’s reaccreditation process in April 2016. That work included the creation of a central website where students can find a wide range of resources www.uwlax.edu/info/student-success/ Grunwald also points to other retention initiatives such as reaching out to students one-on-one when they are at risk of dropping out.

Stronger graduation rates allow for more students

UWL has been able to offer admission to more first-year students as the university’s four-year graduation rate has increased, notes Sjoquist. The four-year graduate rates recorded the past two years for students who entered UWL in fall 2012 and fall 2011, where 41.3 percent and 42.2 percent respectively. Although August degrees are not yet posted, these graduation rates remain a significant increase over UWL’s historical four-year rate that was in the mid-30 percent range, notes Solverson.

Transfer enrollment target met

Admissions staff also surpassed their transfer student enrollment target of 500, enrolling 504 transfer students. Recruitment and enrollment of transfer students includes strong relationships with both two-year and four-year campuses in Wisconsin and surrounding states.  In addition, staff from several areas of campus assisted with the advising, registration and orientation of new transfer students, says Sjoquist.

Increased graduate student enrollment

Total graduate students is 818, up 60 students from fall 2015.

A stand-out first-year freshman class

• 67 valedictorians
• 70 Wisconsin counties represented
• Second highest academic profile of the UW System campuses (this includes average ACT score and median class rank percentile)