HOW WE SEE IT University’s Growth Continues

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville expects about 24,700 students on campus this fall. That would be a record and an increase of roughly 6 percent from last fall’s enrollment.

That’s nothing, though. If UA’s freshman classes continue to bring in about 4,600 students, as is expected this year, total enrollment could easily surpass 28,000 within the next three years, according to Suzanne McCray, the university’s vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions.

Twenty-eight thousand. It’s an eyepopping fi gure but not terribly surprising.

Growth, fueled in part by the state’s scholarship lottery, has been the key word atUA for years. This is a school where enrollment already has grown about 50 percent in the last decade.

Of course, the true measure of the university’s success is not how many students it can get through its doors, but how many it can send away with a degree in hand.

There is encouraging news on that front, too.

UA’s retention rate, a reflection of how many first-year students return for their second year, has increased each of the last fi ve years. It was 83.5 percent last fall. McCray believes the rate will improve again this year.

That’s great to hear. One can’t expect the graduation rate to improve if the retention rate doesn’t improve fi rst.

Making this all the more impressive is the fact UA has the highest admission standards among state colleges and universities. That’s evident in the school’s remediation rate for first-year students, which is by far the lowest among public colleges and universities in Arkansas.

Enrollment numbers provide additional good news concerning UA’s diversity. Statistics show the total students from minority groups has increased by about 80 percent since 2005. There were 3,820 students from minority groups enrolled last year, not including foreign students.

The school is ahead of its goal for minoritygroup enrollment.

There is still work to be done on this front. Black students, for example, made up 5.4 percent of UA’s enrollment in 2011, even though blacks make up about 15 percent of Arkansas’ population.

Enrollment growth at the UA is generally a positive thing if retention and graduation rates are at least keeping pace.

With enrollment growth comes the need for additional classroom and residential space.

Developments spurred by UA’s growth can create tension with neighbors, something we’re seeing even now.

It’s why we agree with Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s initiative to create a town-gown committee.

Creating this committee doesn’t guarantee any concerns from either the town or gown side will be resolved, but at least it will bring various interests together at the same table so they may listen to each other. It’s a respectable first step toward maintaining harmony in Fayetteville.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 08/04/2012

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