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Grand Valley Lanthorn
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Grand Valley State University
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
GVSU BY THE NUMBERS
Breaking down the enrollment puzzle GVL / Katie Mitchell
University sets 27-year record for overall enrollment; sees increase in international students, decrease in minorities By Chelsea Lane GVL Assistant News Editor
Forty years ago, 2,781 students enrolled at Grand Valley State University for the 1969-70 school year. Now GVSU boasts a student body almost 10 times larger, with students enrolling in record numbers for the fall 2009 semester. The total number of GVSU students currently stands at 24,408, a 2.2 percent increase from last fall. 2009 also marks the 27th year
in a row GVSU enrollment has increased since the previous year. In the past decade alone, university enrollment has increased by 49.7 percent, the largest increase of any public university in Michigan. “I am especially pleased with the increase in transfer students from community colleges as well as the growth in graduate students,” said GVSU vice provost Lynn McNamara Blue in a press release. “Across the board, students and their families recognize Grand Valley for
Minority enrollment fluctuates annually Grand Valley State University is in the upper half of Michigan’s public universities for minority enrollment, according to the 2008 Accountability Report from the Office of Institutional Analysis. Although overall minority enrollment has increased from five years ago, lately the number of minority students at GVSU has declined. In fall 2009, of the 3,904 freshmen students whose race was reported, 387 are minorities. Black and Hispanic enrollment decreased for the second year in a row, with 80 Black and 20 Hispanic freshmen enrolling. In 2007, 231 African American and 133 Hispanic freshmen enrolled. However, 180 freshmen enrolled this year are of American Indian descent, a number more than six times that of the 2007 freshman class. Asian and Pacific Islander enrollment also went up this year and according to the IA report, has increased by almost 90 percent in the past five years.
its personal attention, outstanding faculty and commitment to teaching excellence. That’s why our freshman to sophomore retention rate is third-best among Michigan’s 15 public universities.” The 2009 freshmen class has an average GPA of 3.53 and an average ACT score of 24, likely ranking GVSU freshmen in the top quartile of Michigan public universities. assistantnews@lanthorn.com
Nontraditional roles on campus enhancing the experiences of nontraditional students at GVSU. GVL Staff Writer The group has created a new section of the A student is considered “nontraditional” university Web site at http://www.gvsu.edu/ if he or she meets one or more of several nontraditional, which provides students with criteria including financial information and assistance independence, part-time specifically related to issues “(Nontraditional enrollment status and having nontraditional students students) served as a veteran, among face. others. sometimes feel “They sometimes feel Marty Litherland, regional they are out of the loop,” they are out of the director for Continuing Litherland said. “They come loop.” Education, said the easiest in and out of the university criterion to measure for MARTY LITHERLAND community and often don’t nontraditional student status REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR feel a part of that.” is age. CONTINUING EDUCATION Litherland said the Office Students 24 years old or of Continuing Education older currently comprise looked to address this 13 percent of all undergraduate students concern by hosting brown bag lunch events attending all five of GVSU’s campuses. specifically for nontraditional students. Individual campus numbers range from He went on to note the office has 11 percent nontraditional students at the plans to hold activities during National Allendale Campus to 53 percent at GVSU’s Nontraditional Student Week, which is the Muskegon location. first week of November. Litherland said a group of faculty and staff have been meeting since last December for pleblanc@lanthorn.com the purpose of addressing the concerns and
By Paul LeBlanc
Percent change in total enrollment over 10 years GVL Graphic / Lauren Fitch
Slugger: Insert caption here.
International diversity at GV
The total number of international students at Grand Valley State University also hit a record high this year, with more than 300 enrolled. Students from more than 70 countries have studied at GVSU during the course of the university’s history. “We’re larger than ever and growing,” said Padnos International Center Coordinator of Outreach and International Students Liz Smith, of the international student population. “It’s really an exciting time for international students and international opportunities.”
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Smith said the number of GVSU students studying abroad has also remained steady despite the recent economic downturn, partly because of the many affordable opportunities for traditional study abroad destinations such as England and Australia. She said she believes GVSU’s unique open study abroad format, which allows students to study at any accredited educational institution in the world regardless of whether it is a GVSU partner university, is a contributing factor as well.
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Grand Valley State University — 49.7 Ferris State University — 38.2 Saginaw Valley State University — 28.4 Oakland University — 25.8 Northern Michigan University — 19.3 Michigan State University — 11.6 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor — 9.8 Central Michigan University — 8.7 Wayne State University — 8.2 Michigan Tech University — 6.6 University of Michigan-Flint — 5.0 University of Michigan-Dearborn — 3.3 Eastern Michigan University — -2.5 Western Michigan University — -6.6 Lake Superior State University — -15.6 According to the GVSU 2008 Accountability Report
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