Dear colleagues and students:
One of Metropolitan State’s most important accomplishments this semester has been our continued growth in student enrollment. This welcome growth is a result of two critical factors: increased new student enrollment and improved retention of our continuing students. As you may have heard, Metropolitan State was the only Minnesota State system institution to register positive enrollment growth for this semester.
Our ability to achieve our growth goals in spite of both the job opportunities and the unexpected life events facing our students has one explanation: we are succeeding because all of our faculty and staff, regardless of their job titles, dedicate themselves every day to creating student success. I could not be more proud of you, my colleagues, or more excited for what it means for our students that you keep the doors of opportunity permanently open. Here are the details, as of the 10th day of classes:
This semester, compared to spring semester 2016, we enrolled 6.37% more new undergraduates and 5% more new graduate students.
A key facet of our progress is our continuing success in reducing the number of students dropped for non-payment of fees. This semester, we had 854 students who were at risk of being dropped (representing a potential loss of over $1.9 million in revenue). Through painstaking outreach efforts, the final number of students dropped was only 45, meaning that the potential loss of revenue was reduced by over 95%—and over 800 students kept moving toward their life goals.
For the entire 2016-2017 fiscal year (summer through spring), we have sold 1.4% more credits than the previous year. In doing so, we exceeded our recent high point, in 2013-2014, for both spring semester and the entire year. This year’s achievement translated into enrolling 1% more full-year-equivalent (FYE) students than last year.
Special kudos to our amazing colleagues in Enrollment Management, Gateway Services Center, and Financial Aid, and to our academic advisors and all whose first-hand contact with students closes the gap between aspiration and accomplishment.
Thank you.
President Virginia "Ginny" Arthur, JD
Metropolitan State University