University, college rolls down 1.13%

LITTLE ROCK — Preliminary figures show Arkansas’ public and private colleges and universities enrolled 173,969 students this semester, 1.13 percent fewer students compared with the official fall 2011 enrollment.

Enrollment increased 1 percent at public universities to 78,456 students. Public two-year colleges enrolled 3.5 percent fewer students than in fall 2011, at 38,630 students, according to a Monday report by the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

The state’s 11 private institutions enrolled 14,576 students this fall, preliminary figures showed, a 4.4 percent drop from official fall 2011 figures.

State higher-education leaders partially attributed the overall drop in total students to changes in Pell Grant eligibility and a slight decrease in unemployment figures.

The figures are based on “a snapshot” taken on the 11th day of classes, said Shane Broadway, interim director of the Higher Education Department.

“We’ll be able to further analyze enrollment trends when final data is collected at the end of the semester,” he said in a statement.

The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville saw the largest preliminary enrollment increase of the state’s universities, with its student count up 5.8 percent to 24,537, the report showed.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff saw the largest decrease of universities, with enrollment of 2,828 students, a drop of 11.3 percent, it said.

Enrollment also dropped at both of the state’s largest community colleges - Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, the report showed.

The data come as colleges and universities work to enroll and graduate more students to fulfill a goal of increasing the number of Arkansans with college degrees and technical certificates.

U.S. census data taken in 2010 and released in December show that Arkansas ranked second from the bottom in degree-holding adults during the latter half of the decade, with only 18.9 percent of residents older than 25 holding bachelor’s degrees.

That number was well below the 27.5 percent national average. Only West Virginia had fewer, with 17.1 percent.

While the total number of students fell statewide, public institutions saw an increase in “full-time-equivalent” students.

A college or university’s full-time-equivalent enrollment - a factor in its state funding - is calculated by dividing the total number of credit hours taught in a semester by 15, which is the average course load for a full-time students.

Preliminary figures show full-time-equivalent enrollment increased 0.8 percent at public institutions to 117,086. That includes a 3.4 percent increase of full-time equivalent students at universities and a 4.3 percent decrease at two year colleges, the report said.

That suggests more students are taking fuller course loads, Broadway said. He attributed that increase to requirements for the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship, which provides financial aid of up to $4,500 a year largely using state lottery proceeds.