Clarksville, Ark. --- University of the Ozarks officials have announced a 5 percent increase in its 2008 Fall Semester enrollment over last year's figures.
The university’s enrollment of 675 students is the largest since 2003 and a 32-student increase over 2007 Fall Semester figures. The number also represents an 8.5 percent increase over the past two years. It is the university’s third-largest enrollment figure in the past 15 years.
The 2008 enrollment includes 195 first-time entering freshman, a 9.5 percent increase over 2007. The university also announced a 74 percent retention rate of students from 2007, compared with 67 percent last year.
“We are very pleased with not only the increase in overall enrollment and in the freshmen class, but with the retention rate as well,” said U of O Vice President for Enrollment Management Kim Myrick. “I believe that shows we’re doing a good job of not only recruiting students to campus, but also in helping make sure that they are successful when they get here.”
Myrick said the incoming class includes a record 21 Presidential Scholars, students who possess well-above-average ACT scores and high school grade point averages. She also pointed out that the university received more than 1,000 applications for the first time.
“We introduced new recruitment marketing material, enhanced the Web site for recruiting purposes and launched e-mail campaigns,” Myrick said of the university’s admission efforts. “We had a concerted application campaign for the first time and that definitely made a difference.”
The U of O student body includes students from 21 states, 18 countries and 48 counties throughout Arkansas. A total of 349 students are from Arkansas, followed by Texas (130), Oklahoma (24) and Missouri (8).
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