Stricter requirements for UNM's Bridge to Success Scholarship prompted a nearly 9 percent drop in the number of incoming freshmen, while UNM's overall enrollment rose almost one-half a percent this semester.
Graduate enrollment saw slight gains, according to the University's enrollment report from the Registrar's Office based on figures collected Sept. 7.
UNM President Bill Gordon said Thursday that the University did not want to amend the bridge scholarship last semester, but had to change the program's minimum grade point average requirement from 2.5 to 3.0 because of limited funding. The bridge scholarship pays for New Mexico high school students' first semester at the University, and the state's lottery scholarship kicks in thereafter, covering in-state tuition.
"We all knew this was coming and expected anywhere from a 5 to 10 percent drop in our freshman numbers," he said. "We will continue to look for funds this year to help shore up the program and see if we can offer those scholarships to more students. Changing the requirements was certainly not something we wanted to do, but the real shortage of scholarship funding forced us to do it."
The University had applied lottery scholarship for students already on other UNM scholarships to fund the bridge program, but the state Legislature banned the practice when it was facing a shortfall in lottery revenue during the legislative session.
Gordon said the bridge scholarships played a big role in helping the University make major strides in undergraduate enrollment during the last few years.
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"Everyone benefited from a real boom when the lottery scholarship first started, and we benefited a fair amount more than others because we were able to establish the bridge scholarships, but now those numbers are leveling out for everyone," he said.
More students taking full time loads, improved retention rates and an influx of transfer students helped offset the smaller freshman class to level out the University's enrollment, Gordon said.
The number of students taking full-time course loads rose 1.9 percent, or to 18,214. Gordon said a number of factors go into improving course loads.
"The economy can play a big role in our enrollment - as the economy is gloomier, more people come back to school," he said. "Any time you see Bernalillo County's unemployment rate rise, you can expect to see our enrollment rise as well."
He added that the lottery scholarship also plays a role in bringing in a more traditional student population.
"The number of students taking full-time loads is beneficial because you just have more people taking advantage of a more coherent educational experience, as opposed to a part-time one that may be spread out over 10 years and is less effective," he said.
Retention rates, or the number of first year students returning for a third semester, rose 2 percent this year. Gordon attributed the change to a University emphasis on improving graduation and retention rates.
"It's one thing to go out and recruit a large freshman class, but it's entirely another to keep them and help them to graduate in a timely manner," he said.
Gordon said this semester's biggest surprise was the spike in transfer students, which increased by 11 percent.
"This is one of the harder factors to judge and you really don't target this group of students," he said. "We'll certainly want to look at where they came from and why they came here."
Judy Jones, vice president for Institutional Advancement, said the number of transfer students says a lot about their overall impression of the University.
"They're decision to move says a lot about their happiness wherever they were at and the appeal of the University of New Mexico," she said. "We have a good transfer program that now allows more students to move right into their degree program instead of going non-degree until they get their credentials settled."
The University reported gains in graduate student enrollment, which is up 1.86 percent.
"We're really happy with this number because it marks the second year of a turnaround from a very severe drop in graduate enrollment both here and nationwide," he said.
Gordon attributed the increase to raising graduate student stipends, providing graduate students who teach courses with health benefits and better recruitment.
"Nationally you see most university departments recruiting students individually, which is the way we always did it, but this year David Stewart put together a centralized recruiting program comparable to the one we've always had for undergraduates that has really helped pull more students in," Gordon said.
