Overall enrollment at the U is down by about 600 students this year, part of what administrators called a “short, downward trend” because of economic growth and flat high school graduation rates.
While the size of the incoming freshman class has been mostly unaffected, the decrease came largely from transfer students and declining retention rates of upperclassmen, said Paul Brinkman, associate vice president for budget and planning.
“Students are ‘stopping out’ because the job market in Utah is really hot right now,” Brinkman said. “When the markets go up, the wages go up, and a small portion — 1 to 2 percent — of our population make the choice to go into the work force instead of stay in school.”
About 28,000 students are taking classes for credit at the U this fall, down from around 28,600 a year ago. About 1,800 additional students taking classes for no credit will bring the 2007 total to about 29,800.
The number of students enrolled at the U has dropped over the past two years, decreasing by about 400 students from 2005 to 2006.
Over the last 30 years, the U has seen growth, but it hasn’t been consistent, Brinkman said.
“It’s like the stock market,” he said. “There are periodic downturns where we lose hundreds of students.”
Graduate student enrollment is up by 140 students this year, and has been on the rise for nine years.
U Registrar Tim Ebner said lower enrollment can be rooted to enrollment at Salt Lake Community College.
“When the economy is good, there are less students going to the community college, so less transfer students,” Ebner said.
The community college also experienced about a 1 percent decline in enrollment this year.
The number of high school graduates in the state of Utah has dropped from 33,000 to 30,000, and is not expected to go up for five or six more years, Brinkman said. The number of Utahns in the 18 to 29 age demographic is also decreasing, despite the “bulge” in students in grades K-12, which administrators said would increase enrollment later.
With the decline in students comes a decrease in tuition revenue, causing budget reductions in almost every area on campus except the hospital. Budget cuts are done proportionally — if a college or department experiences a decline in enrollment, its budget will be reduced by 1 or 2 percent. Administrative areas also receive cuts.
Although lower enrollment will decrease the U’s income by a couple million dollars, Brinkman said it will likely not have too much impact.
“With a $340 million budget, it’s not a huge concern,” he said. “But it’s something we’ve gotten used to — (this cycle of) growth, going down and leveling out.”
Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Kay Harward said a positive economy has both ups and downs, bringing in more state funding but giving students more opportunities to work.
“We would hope that students think of the relative advantage of working less and getting out of school faster — instead of working $10-an-hour jobs waiting tables — and moving into their careers,” Harward said.
