Saturday, September 04, 2010
Enrollment continues to climb at USI
USI students in front of the Business and Engineering Center, which opened this fall.
USI continues to attract transfer students and retain current students, showing increased numbers among the upper classes. The sophomore count is 2,023, which is 155 more than last year, 1,894 juniors, 219 more, and 2,244 seniors, 69 more. The majority of transfer students are coming from state-wide Ivy Tech Community College and Vincennes University. Ivy Tech Community College transfers number 163 while 87 transfers come from Vincennes University. The first-year class count is 2,098, a slight increase over last year's first-year total. The number of first-time graduate students increased to 259 for a graduate student total of 856. "In talking to students and parents, it's clear the enthusiasm for being a part of the University community is high," said Dr. Ronald S. Rochon, provost. "Retention and graduation rates are improving, and USI students have a definitive understanding of what they want from their educational experience." Rochon, who is new to the provost post this year, met many parents during Welcome Week activities. "The legacy of USI is building," Rochon said. "Parents proudly said this is my second or third child to attend USI. Families are seeing the dedication USI has to helping students and USI's commitment to provide expertise and leadership for issues impacting the region." First-year students are better prepared with more than 10 percent ranked in the top 10 percent of the senior class and 32 percent ranked in the top 25 percent of the high school class. More than 64 percent of the freshmen live on campus. This fall, a majority of students or 8,381 are full-time, taking 12 or more credit hours. The female-to-male ration continues to be about 60-40, though the rate of increase of male students outpaced the increase in female students. USI students are more ethnically diverse. The number of African Americans who enrolled increased to 585 and the number of Hispanics who enrolled increased to 181. Most of the students are under 25 years of age, but 24 percent are over 25 years of age. The number of international students increased to 196 representing 67 countries. Students hail from throughout Indiana, with Vanderburgh County, the home county of USI, having the highest number of students. The contiguous counties of Posey, Warrick, and Gibson, follow close behind. Students are from 90 Indiana counties and 41 other states. Residence Life at USI offers apartments and residence halls for 3,000 students. The staff reports housing is at 96 percent occupancy. The University secured supplemental housing from a commercial apartment complex to meet demand. Enrollment through the years 2010 10,702 2005 10,004 2000 9,012 The ten-year enrollment increase from fall 2000 to fall 2010 is nearly nineteen percent. |
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