AU is maintaining higher retention rates than ever before in the university’s history, according to statistics recently released by AU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.
AU’s freshman-to-sophomore retention rate was 90.5 percent from fall 2008 to fall 2009, a 2.1 percent increase from the 88.4 percent freshman-to-sophomore retention rate from 2007 to 2008. The retention rate five years earlier, from fall 2001 to fall 2002, was 87.3 percent.
Karen Froslid-Jones, the director of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, attributes the rise in retention to an overall stronger student population.
“Graduation rates and retention rates are often associated with student quality,” Froslid-Jones said in an e-mail. “As our student body [becomes stronger], more students opt to stay at AU and graduate.”
The university’s retention rate has been fluctuating for the past 10 years but has shown an upward trend overall, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment.
AU admitted 43 percent of the 16,934 students who applied —more than 10 percent lower than last year’s admissions rate. There were 13 percent more students applying for AU than last year.
Historical comparisons
The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment also celebrated the 40th year of the publication of the Reference Book by publishing statistics from the first edition of the Reference Book in 1971.
The Office puts out an Academic Data Reference Book towards the end of every school year with numbers for enrollment, admissions, retention and graduation. It gives students and the rest of the AU community statistics about a wide variety of academic and campus-life issues.
The 1971 edition of the Reference Book showed a much different AU from the school it is today. Graduation rates are much higher now than in 1971. The four-year graduation rate in 1971 was only 45 percent, compared with 71 percent in 2010.
In addition, total student enrollment has significantly decreased in the past 40 years —from 15,441 students in 1971 to 12,705 students today.
AU also admitted a higher percentage of students in 1971 than in 2010. About 75 percent of prospective students were admitted in 1971.
AU expects to enroll about 1,500 first-year students this fall and 300 transfer students, according to a memo to the campus community by President Neil Kerwin.
AU’s increased selectivity and decreased student population reflects the school’s improvement over the years, according to Froslid-Jones.
“AU has become an increasingly competitive institution that attracts high-quality students,” Froslid-Jones said. “As the overall quality of the institution increased, the interest in going to AU increased.”
Froslid-Jones said the university has become more selective over the years as the number of applications increased. Lower student numbers reflect a more focused effort to get higher-quality students, according to Froslid-Jones.
Trends will likely continue into the near future, she said. The administration will continue working diligently to ensure students have everything they are entitled to as an AU student, including good professors, challenging classes, comprehensive student programs and activities.
Increasing international students
An increasing number of Chinese, Colombian and German students are choosing to study at AU, according to the Reference Book.
Fanta Aw, the assistant vice president of Campus Life, said that increases in enrollment from German and Colombian students result from AU’s increased efforts to connect with educational institutions in those countries. Both countries have expressed great interest in “international educational exchange,” according to Aw.
The increase in Chinese student enrollment at AU is a reflection of national trends, she said.
“China and India are the top two countries sending the largest number of students to the U.S.,” Aw said in an e-mail. “Much of the interest [from Chinese students] is due to the rising middle class in China and families wanting to invest in [an American] education.”
Froslid-Jones said that the numbers in the Reference Book indicate that AU has changed for the better over the years.
“Little by little, the changes we have made at AU have paid off so that now we see, 40 years later, a very different student body and student experience,” Froslid-Jones said.
You can reach this staff writer at jryan@theeagleonline.com.
