Sep. 19, 1996-Vol28n04: Fall student 'snapshot' met freshman target

Fall student 'snapshot' met freshman target

Enrollment for this fall will allow the university to meet its tuition revenue budget, according to Robert Palmer, vice president for student affairs.

Palmer said the annual average full-time enrollment for the year is estimated at one-half percent, or 120 full-time equivalents, below the 1996-97 budgeted target of 20,400.

The university's fall enrollment was budgeted at 543 fewer students than enrolled in 1995-96.

The actual full headcount enrollment is about 373 students less than the campus targeted, Palmer added, noting that much of this is accounted for by slightly reduced part-time enrollment.

"One need not be overly concerned about headcount," said Palmer. "Headcount is important only as it contributes to FTE."

UB's fall 1996 full- and part-time student headcount enrollment numbers stack up as follows:

· 15,571 undergraduates, 379 fewer than targeted for 1995-96, 368 of whom were part time. The number of freshmen enrolling for the fall of 1996 exceeded the target of 2,500 by 75, but the numbers for transfer and continuing/returning students came in at 146 and 308 under target, respectively.

· 8,006 graduate students (headcount), six over target. The number of new graduate students was 63 over target; however, 57 fewer continuing/returning graduate students enrolled.

Enrollment targets, Palmer noted, are the basis for the budget, and are based on the university's ability to maintain the quality and integrity of academic programs and support services. "We look at the number of students we can reasonably accommodate," he said.

"Our 'snapshot' found we met our freshman target, which was set at 2,500. We're very close in transfer numbers and down in continuing and returning student projections. At the graduate level we met our new student enrollment targets and we're slightly under with continuing and returning students," said Palmer.

The source of this year's headcount shortfall was part time and continuing/returning students, he noted. "You can better project outcomes with respect to new full-time students. It is more difficult to project part-time and returning student enrollment." Palmer noted that UB's actual FTE enrollment is less than one percentage under the overall target. "The ideal would be to be slightly over, not slightly under," he said. "We may need to make some minor adjustments for the mid-year."