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UM Spring Enrollment Numbers

PlayerRep

Well-known member
This article is worth reading. The stats are more clearly presented.

"The Montana University System’s flagship school has seen declining enrollment since a record high point in Fall 2011, with the current figures showing a nearly 35% decline in total student headcount since then.

The total headcount of students, including all levels of students on the main campus, as well as at Missoula College, now sits at 10,247.

The present overall number is now smaller than UM’s undergraduate enrollment peak in Fall 2010, according to that semester’s census day report, when it counted 10,891 undergrads. As of the census report released Tuesday, the number of undergraduate students nearly halved, dropping 47% to 5,789.

Between Fall 2013 and Fall 2019, MSU saw a 28% jump in out-of-state students, who bring in considerably more tuition revenue than in-state students. At the same time, UM’s out-of-state enrollment fell just over 12%.

[Note that MSU has been offsetting a lightly lower in-state enrollment with a huge increase in out-of-state enrollment.]

And while MSU’s in-state students fell slightly, UM’s dropped by more than 30%.

Undergraduates have been hit the hardest since enrollment began falling nearly a decade ago, with the Chronicle of Higher Education reporting last semester that UM has lost more undergrads than any other public flagship in the country this decade.

https://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-enrollment-dips-again-but-shows-retention-progress/article_de8471ce-60b6-5f1b-997d-93487dd9c251.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
 
Thought this was good:



University officials noted a few bright spots in the data, which show freshmen who started this fall have continued on to the spring semester at the highest rate since 2016, with 89.4% of freshmen re-enrolling for spring.

In a press release, UM’s enrollment and communications vice president, Cathy Cole, noted that the overall fall-to-spring drop this year was a smaller drop than last year’s by a small amount, but with significant improvements over previous years.

“Last year, we had 3.0% fewer students in spring than fall; this year it’s 2.3%,” Cole wrote in the press release. “That may seem like a small change, but when you consider we were down 8.2% in 2018, 6.9% in 2017 and 9.1% in 2016, we are clearly moving in a very positive direction. This data affirms progress in our strategy of making incremental improvements in rebuilding enrollment.”
 
Well if they can bring in a slightly larger freshmen class next year, we may actually see an increase in overall enrollment next year.
 
No words.

Transactional, incremental adjustments and declaring small victories for retaining handfuls of students...

Quantity? No set goal for future enrollment numbers? Why? Seems they need to have an end state with clear intermediate objectives.

Quality? If they aren't driving toward a target number, are they working to drive to higher quality or better performing student body?

I'm not casting stones, I just don't know what the vision is.

Anyone know?
 
It boils down to 2 pretty clear facts for me.

1. MSU offers degrees in areas more sought after than UM. Plain and simple. UM has some good programs, but engineering and the science related fields are a lot more attractive to young kids than the liberal arts and some other degrees. Classical Lit doesn't pay off many student loans. Not nearly as many jobs in forestry anymore. They may be fine departments, but reality is harsh.

2. MSU has kicked UM's ass for 10 years on recruiting and advertising. And it isn't even close. Whoever worked in that area at UM (especially recruiting) from 2011 to 2017 should return their salary. I am completely baffled why this happened or that no one in the administration noticed it.

UM's negative publicity during that time didn't help. Nor did the decline in the football program. Like it or not, UM Grizzly football is more nationally recognized than any other aspect of the University.

I think Bodner will get it turned around, as it is somewhat cyclical. MSU was the popular choice when I came to UM. Then it slowly turned to UM. Hopefully we are at the bottom of the valley, and starting the incline again.
 
Can anyone still call UM the "Flagship University" in Montana? Academically, they have around half the enrollment as MSU... Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have). I get that they use to be the flagship university, but at what point do you stop calling yourself that. I will agree that their graduate programs are top notch, so maybe that is what they look at.
 
Tuesday, the number of undergraduate students nearly halved, dropping 47% to 5,789.

I feel like this number has to be a typo. UM's undergrad enrollment this fall was 6668 and last spring it was 6796.

I have a hard time believing they lost 900 students from fall to spring.
 
wbtfg said:
Tuesday, the number of undergraduate students nearly halved, dropping 47% to 5,789.

I feel like this number has to be a typo. UM's undergrad enrollment this fall was 6668 and last spring it was 6796.

I have a hard time believing they lost 900 students from fall to spring.
Is this important to you?
 
UM has terrible recruiting for non student athletes. MSU has great recruiting for non student athletes. We might get the best athletes but we are not going after good students. I have two kids both were 4.0 students MSU recruited and called and sent tibits all the time. One chose to still go to the U the other MSU. On a weekly basis we continued to get stuff from MSU and emails every other day on how student life was going. This was from Cruzado and they were not just boiler plate emails. During the time my daughter was at the U (graduated with a masters in 5 years) never got a single email. Both got great educations but we felt like MSU went the extra mile. I will also say that MSU was very geared towards making sure kids graduated on time.

My wife teaches and a couple of years ago she reached out to nearly every college west of the Mississippi asking for a banner as the middle school wanted to have a big college push and wanted to line the halls with the college banners. guess which school did not bother to send a banner. Yup UM. She emailed and called. I had to drive over and ask for one and then they seemed put out.
 
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
 
SACCAT66 said:
Can anyone still call UM the "Flagship University" in Montana? Academically, they have around half the enrollment as MSU... Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have). I get that they use to be the flagship university, but at what point do you stop calling yourself that. I will agree that their graduate programs are top notch, so maybe that is what they look at.
Flagship universities do not put player pics on porta-potties, do not hire ADs for twenty mins, do not host MILF nights, and do not have shit ponds attached to their “front porch.”
Sorry lil bro, you got a long ways to go
 
kemajic said:
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
As a Cat fan this is actually excellent news. Because if we're not better than UM football right now, I'm VERY excited for what it looks like when we are.

In regards to the hoops, you are preaching to the choir on that one. I've been complaining about it for years. Both schools act like football is god when in fact UM has been a hoops school and the best in the league for decades. For some reason no one talks about it which is fine with me if we can't figure out how to beat you guys on the hardwood.
 
UM finally realized and admitted their shortcomings in the underclassmen recruiting arena a couple years ago. I was told at a recent gathering in Billings that more students are making their higher education choices as sophomores these days. Thus the increased efforts by UM have not yet shown their benefits. I also agree the choice of Bodnar will pay dividends if it has not already happened.

Shuttering the Missoulian would also pay great dividends!
 
kemajic said:
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....

That is why I said "this year isn't over". Cats have won the head-to-head "All sports trophy" the past 3 years, while UM won it the 3 years before that. Cats look like they are going to make it 4 in a row this year, but you never know.
 
ilovethecats said:
kemajic said:
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
As a Cat fan this is actually excellent news. Because if we're not better than UM football right now, I'm VERY excited for what it looks like when we are.

Oh, no, you are and the gap is widening. You won’t come anywhere close to 16, but you’ll enjoy a healthy streak that isn’t even close to being over.
 
Raider said:
ilovethecats said:
kemajic said:
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
As a Cat fan this is actually excellent news. Because if we're not better than UM football right now, I'm VERY excited for what it looks like when we are.

Oh, no, you are and the gap is widening. You won’t come anywhere close to 16, but you’ll enjoy a healthy streak that isn’t even close to being over.
I hope you're right!

I also hope neither team sees anything close to 16 again. That was truly terrible for the rivalry, although probably pretty fun for you guys...
 
Raider said:
ilovethecats said:
kemajic said:
SACCAT66 said:
Athletically, they are only better than MSU at Mens Basketball (the year isn't over, and they are good at softball, a sport MSU doesn't have).
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
As a Cat fan this is actually excellent news. Because if we're not better than UM football right now, I'm VERY excited for what it looks like when we are.

Oh, no, you are and the gap is widening. You won’t come anywhere close to 16, but you’ll enjoy a healthy streak that isn’t even close to being over.

So it stands at 4, isn't close to being over, but won't get anywhere close to 16. Right. Get a grip.
 
Htowngriz said:
Raider said:
ilovethecats said:
kemajic said:
"Better" doesn't quite describe the dominance that the UM men's basketball program has had over MSU, winning 18 of the last 19 games. As it relates to football, it's a stretch to say MSU has been better, winning but 6 of the last 14. There is rodeo.....
As a Cat fan this is actually excellent news. Because if we're not better than UM football right now, I'm VERY excited for what it looks like when we are.

Oh, no, you are and the gap is widening. You won’t come anywhere close to 16, but you’ll enjoy a healthy streak that isn’t even close to being over.

So it stands at 4, isn't close to being over, but won't get anywhere close to 16. Right. Get a grip.

Uh, ok. No, I don’t see them hitting a 16 game winning streak. That’s a freak deal that won’t ever happen again.

They have won 4 straight, and the gap is widening. What makes you think that is all of a sudden going to pivot, or is it just the Griz fan with your head in the sand thingy?
 
What would it take to add a nursing school or an engineering school to UM? Medical field is and will continue to grow. Just like the food industry, people always have to eat.
 
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