Student recruitment surpassing strategic goals

UAB’s 2007 entering freshman class averaged an ACT score of 24, meeting the 2010 Strategic Plan Undergraduate Education Goal three years early.

That was one of many positive announcements made by DeeDee Bruns, associate vice president for Enrollment Management, during the November meeting of the Faculty Senate. The average ACT score for incoming freshmen rose for a fourth consecutive year, as did the average high-school GPA.

“This freshman class is pretty exceptional,” Bruns said.

“UAB is showing tremendous positive momentum in the recruitment of academically talented freshmen.”

The average ACT score rose to a composite 24 for the fall 2007 entering class, up from 21.7 in fall 2003. The goal for this fall was 23.24.

The average GPA for incoming students four years ago was 3.30, higher than the strategic goal plan of 3.22. The 2007 freshman class had an average GPA of 3.43 — exactly .14 points higher than the 2010 plan goal of 3.29.

Bruns said it is expected that the percentage of entering freshman completing the prescribed college preparatory curriculum also will exceed the stated goal of 80 percent by “several percentage points.”

UAB also continues to do well recruiting minority and women students. The fall entering freshman class is 58 percent female. More than 25 percent of the fall class is African-American, and more than 35 percent are minorities.

Bruns said one of the more impressive stats is that 60 percent of freshmen are living in UAB campus housing. up from 52.8 percent a year ago.

“The Campus Rec Center, the Commons on the Green and Blazer Hall are really proving to be a draw for incoming freshmen,” Bruns said.

More area high-school students also are applying to come to school at UAB, she said. “As of Nov. 12, freshman applications are up by 10.5 percent compared with this same time in the fall of 2006. Freshman admits also are up from 5.8 percent compared with this time a year ago.”

UAB will continue to focus on strong admission standards in 2008.

The minimum GPA required for admission will increase to 2.25 from 2.0. The ACT average required for admission will remain 20. The college-preparatory curriculum will be more stringent for the fall 2008 class. All entering freshmen will be required to have completed four years of English, three years of science (two must include labs), three years of math (Algebra I and higher), three years of social science, one year of foreign language and three additional core courses to total a minimum 17.

“Statistics demonstrate that students who complete a quality college preparatory curriculum in high school consistently score higher on standardized tests and are more likely to graduate from college as a result,” Bruns said. “A primary goal in enrollment management is not only to recruit a more academically talented freshman class but to graduate a higher percentage of students each year.”

Graduate enrollment
Enrollment in UAB’s 40 doctoral and 44 masters programs was up 3.4 percent from fall 2006, said Bryan Noe, Ph.D., dean of the Graduate School. Noe also presented his numbers during the November meeting of the Faculty Senate.

The number of students enrolling in graduate school classes for this fall was 4,449. Noe says Arts & Humanities (100 percent), Nursing (87.0 percent), Health Professions (44.1 percent) and Joint Health Sciences (21.2 percent) have had the largest increases in enrollment since 2002.

Public Health (9 percent) and Social & Behavioral Sciences (7.5 percent) also have had increases.