Date:
9/10/2012
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 575.562.2253
Eastern New Mexico University in Portales has set another enrollment record with 5,814 students, an increase of 4.3 percent over last fall's previous record of 5,574 students.
Student credit hours, which higher education institutions funding is based on, increased by 3.9 percent.
ENMU's record enrollment includes 4,586 undergraduate and 1,228 graduate students.
These numbers include a record 709 first-time freshmen compared to last year's previous record of 690, an increase of 2.7 percent. The retention rate for first-time freshmen from the fall of 2011 to the fall of 2012 is 62.5 percent.
The average ACT scores of new freshmen is 20.0, which exceeds the state average of 19.6.
"We are pleased with enrollment, in terms of numbers and quality," said Dr. Steven Gamble, ENMU president.
"We have hard-working, student-centered employees who have contributed greatly to this growth. Thanks to our dedicated professors, Eastern has a reputation for offering high academic quality at a low price, with genuinely personal attention for each student."
Dr. Gamble also says that Eastern has a solid reputation for quality academics at an affordable price. "With a total annual cost of only $4,350 for tuition and fees, I think students and their parents see us as a bargain."
Dr. Gamble added, "We also have a safe, attractive and friendly campus in which students truly get personal attention from the faculty and staff.
"Numbers are nice, but it is the quality of our graduates and their contributions to society that make me the proudest," Dr. Gamble said.