LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) - The University of Wyoming has recorded a slight increase in enrollment for the first time in several years with gains in freshmen and transfer students providing good news to the college that has been dealing with funding cuts from the state.
A total of 12,397 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled this fall at the university’s campus in Laramie and at its outreach facilities around the state.
In the fall of 2016, enrollment was 12,366.
The university has been forced to cut more than 300 jobs because of reduced state funding in recent years brought on by a downturn in the energy industry.
UW President Laurie Nichols has made increasing enrollment a priority to help bring in more revenue. Enrollment had fallen since hitting a record 13,122 in 2012.
The university’s goal is to increase enrollment to 13,500 by 2022, Kyle Moore, UW’s associate vice provost for enrollment management, said Monday.
Moore credited increased marketing and recruitment efforts for the increase this fall that included faculty getting involved to discuss research and other opportunities at UW with prospective students.
“It’s not about the aggregate success, but by taking care of the individual student the aggregate will take care of itself,” he said.
Nearly 1,700 freshmen enrolled this year - a 9.3 percent increase from 2016. Additionally, nearly 1,100 transfer students enrolled, up 12.3 percent from last year.
The number of students attending school on the Laramie campus increased from 10,341 in 2016 to 10,396 this fall.
UW’s freshman class consists of 925 students from Wyoming and 771 from outside the state.
Of the 1,086 transfer students, 771 were from Wyoming and 315 from outside the state.
The average ACT score for freshmen is 24.7, up from 24.4 last year, according to the university.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.