Date:
9/23/2004
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
PORTALES — Enrollment for the fall semester at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales is 3,959. This is the highest enrollment since 1993 when 3,973 students were enrolled, and the second most in 20 years.
Enrollment is up 6.3 percent from the 2003 fall headcount of 3,725. Total semester credit hours has increased from 43,398 to 45,454.
During the last year graduate students have increased from 701 to 718, and undergraduates have increased from 3,024 to 3,241. New freshmen are up from 543 to 576.
Students in residence halls have increased from 852 to 875, and the average ACT score of incoming freshmen has increased from 19.1 to 19.3. Overall, 253 new freshmen have an ACT score of 20 or above compared to 237 a year ago.
Ronnie Birdsong, vice president for Enrollment Services and University Relations, says that she attributes the growth to the efforts of Eastern's faculty and staff, including the Graduate School, in showing prospective and current students personal attention, and Eastern's affordable tuition and academic reputation. In addition, Ms. Birdsong said that Eastern's recruiting efforts have also been successful in attracting a number of students from Texas, who can attend Eastern for in-state tuition if they live within 135 miles of the school, as well as other out-of-state and international students.