Bumpers College enrollment increases by 7.2 percent

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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Dean Greg Weidemann of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences announced that undergraduate enrollment increased by 7.2% this fall, based on official census reports, for a total of 1,317 undergraduates, which is an increase of 88 students compared to last fall.

“This is a remarkable increase in a year where total campus undergraduate growth was less than 2%,” Dean Weidemann said.

Bumpers College had the highest percentage increase of any college on campus.

“While we do not yet have numbers for our share of the interdisciplinary graduate programs, current numbers show a 12% increase in M.S. students and a 3% increase in Ph.D. students,” the dean said. “These increases are a testament to the strength of our academic programs, the quality of our faculty and our attention to recruitment and retention.”

Total enrollment for the college has increased in each of the last 10 years, and undergraduate enrollment has grown in eight of the last nine years.

Total U of A enrollment reached a record of 17,938, according to the 11th day of class report required for Arkansas institutions of higher education. The increase campus-wide was just over 100 students, or 0.7 percent.

The incoming freshman class, campus-wide, set new records for both enrollment and academic achievement. The number of degree-seeking freshmen totaled 2,784, a 1.2 percent increase over last year. The incoming freshman class has an average ACT score of 25.5, the highest yet at the university. Their grade point average is 3.58, the highest since the record-setting class that enrolled in 2003.

Chancellor John White said, “Since 1997, the University has added close to 4,000 students to its enrollment. We expect to continue having modest increases in enrollment, while increasing the diversity of our student body, increasing the academic qualifications of entering students, and increasing the University's six-year graduation rate. The pace at which we increase in these areas that are so critical to the State of Arkansas will depend, in large measure, on the resources we continue to receive, both public and private."

The Bumpers College major with the largest undergraduate enrollment increase compared to last fall was Food, Human Nutrition and Hospitality, with a total of 175 students, an increase of 42 students.

Other majors with significant undergraduate enrollment growth are Agribusiness, which added 25 for a total of 127; Poultry Science, +21 (72); Horticulture, +21 (78); Interior Design, +8 (123); and Apparel Studies, +6 (217).

Graduate student enrollment increased in Animal Science; General Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences; Human Environmental Sciences; Agricultural Economics; Poultry Science; Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences; and Entomology