Fall Semester Enrollment Up at ENMU

Date: 9/15/2003
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253

PORTALES — The 2003 fall semester enrollment for Eastern New Mexico University in Portales totals 3,725, an increase of 2.4 percent over the 2002 fall enrollment of 3,638. This is the largest enrollment at the University since fall, 1994. An analysis of the statistics shows the following:

* The first time freshman class numbers 543, compared to 518 last fall. The fall 2003 freshman class is the second largest in the past 10 years.
* The ACT scores of the freshman class are improved. For the fall 2003 class, 232 freshmen scored an ACT composite score of 20 or greater, compared to 181 freshmen in last year's class.
* The full-time equivalency (FTE) for the 2003 fall semester is 2,955, compared to 2,968 for the 2002 fall semester. This is a decrease of approximately one half of one percent.
* The University enrollment includes approximately 100 new or continuing students enrolled in a new personal wellness (fitness) course, most of whom are ENMU faculty and staff.

Dr. Steve Gamble, ENMU president, commented that he is happy with the increase in headcount at ENMU: "In May 2003, we graduated 85 more students than in May 2002. We are pleased that we were able to make up the 85 and increase by an additional 87 students. We are especially happy with the number and quality of the new freshmen."

ENMU-Roswell also reported "an excellent growth in enrollment," according to Dr. Gamble. ENMU-Roswell has a headcount of 3,214 for this fall compared to 2,943 in the fall of 2002.

The ENMU Ruidoso Instruction Center also grew from 715 last fall to 731 this fall, according to Dr. Gamble.