UND set another unofficial first-day spring enrollment record this semester, the university reported Tuesday.
UND had 13,234 enrolled students Jan. 10, an increase of 357 students or nearly 3 percent from the previous spring record of 12,877 set in 2011.
The greatest growth is in graduate school enrollment, which grew 170 students or about 7 percent since last spring to 2,585 students.
"These are just first-day numbers, and will go up in a few weeks, as it always does," said Peter Johnson, executive associate vice president for university relations at UND.
The official enrollment count is recorded in the fourth week of the semester.
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Johnson said last year's final, and official, spring enrollment was 13,458.
'Good growth'
Spring enrollment figures include 387 new transfer students who have enrolled at the university, up 14 percent from the 2011 total of 339, Johnson said.
And 67 new freshmen students enrolled this semester, 11 more than last year.
"We usually see the new freshmen figure in the 30 to 40 range," Johnson said.
Undergraduate first-day spring enrollment was 10,181, a gain of 211 students or more than 2 percent compared to the 9,970 students enrolled in the spring of 2011.
"We're seeing good growth in new students, as well as retaining our current students," Johnson said.
The record spring enrollment news comes on the heels of the university's largest winter commencement last month when about 900 students, 150 more than in the winter of 2010, were eligible to receive degrees.
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Johnson attributed the record enrollment to UND's focus on student engagement in recent years.
UND is placing more emphasis on increasing opportunities for student advising, academic internships and smaller freshmen classes which focus on experiential learning, he said.
"UND is doing more to help students to become more involved in university life, to connect them with their field of interest and not just sit in class and absorb information," he said. These kinds of things help students stay focused on their academic career. I think we're seeing those efforts pay off."
Prior to 2011, UND set a first-day spring enrollment record in 2010 when it broke a record of 11,775 set in January 2005, Johnson said. Enrollment growth was steady but not record-setting from 2006 to 2009.
Fall enrollment is generally higher than in the spring. UND recorded an all-time official record enrollment of 14,697 last fall, up 503 students or about 3.5 percent from the fall of 2010.
Reach Knudson at (701) 780-1138; (800) 477-6572, ext. 138; or send email to pknudson@gfherald.com .<?i>
