Student 'census' reflects impressive gains in retention and academic preparedness

The University welcomed the entering class at InfoCision Stadium - Summa Field on Aug. 22. The class has the highest average GPA of any class in UA history, and it has a record number of Honors students.

THE FALL 2014 ENTERING CLASS comes better prepared to succeed and joins thousands of current University of Akron students who are making significant strides in academic performance. The result is higher retention rates and an improved outlook for overall academic achievement across our diverse student body. 

Highlights of the 2014 census include:

• The highest number of applications in UA history, more than 18,700, helping to stem the tide of declining enrollment
• The highest average GPA (3.37) in history in the 2014 entering class of first-time, full-time freshmen
• The largest entering Honors freshman class with total Honors College enrollment at an all-time high
• Significant gains in retention of all students who entered as freshmen in fall 2013
• The highest number of minority entering freshman honors students, and significant strides in retention among all minority freshmen who entered in 2013

Census numbers, as they are called, are reported to the state and often used to compare universities. 

Investment paying off

“These numbers provide us some reassurance that the investment we’ve made and the hard work of our faculty, staff and students is paying off in student success,” says President Scott Scarborough. 

“It’s not about rankings or one particular number," he added. "It’s about understanding how class size, diversity, student credit hours, entering class preparedness, and retention numbers all factor in together to tell a story of a university that is focused on student success—all of our students—and the future is promising.”

Some important data points:

• Overall freshmen enrollment held relatively steady at 4,131 students (compared to 4,177 last year). This 1.1% decline is a significant improvement over enrollment declines for the last two years (freshmen enrollment was down 8.6% in 2012 and down 9.4% in 2013).  
• Among first-time, full-time freshmen on main campus pursuing a bachelor’s degree (the cohort traditionally used to compare universities), enrollment is up 7.97% from a year ago, and the average GPA -- the best predictor of college success -- is up slightly to 3.37 (from 3.29 last year). Their average ACT is 23.36 compared to 23.42 the year before.
• The Honors College is seeing record enrollment with 578 new freshmen students (compared to 354 last year) and an increase in minorities enrolled, from 4.2% last year to 9.0% in this year’s entering Honors freshman class. The overall enrollment of all Honors students is a record 1,833.  Entering Honors freshmen in 2014 average a 3.92 GPA and a 28.9 ACT.
• Minority students comprise one-quarter of the entering class, and nearly 7% of the entering class comes from outside the state of Ohio.
• An increased number of students (up at least 12%) are receiving scholarship funding as the university increased general scholarship funds based upon merit and provided more scholarships to more students.
• Retention rates—an important indicator of student success—are much improved. Overall retention of the traditional cohort of freshmen (from fall 2013 to fall 2014) is 73.9%, up 7.5 percentage points from 66.4% for the entering cohort of 2012. Looking at retention among subsets of students in the entering class:
• Minority students entering Fall 2013 have been retained at a rate of 63.89% (up 15.05 percentage points)
• African Americans entering Fall 2013 have been retained at a rate of 55.95%  (up 15.37 percentage points)
• African American males entering Fall 2013 have been retained at a rate of 58.76% (up 15.67 percentage points)
• Pell-eligible students entering Fall 2013 have been retained at a rate of 67.5% (up 9.4 percentage points)
• First-generation students entering Fall 2013 have been retained at a rate of 66.6% (up 8.8 percentage points)

Overall enrollment of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students breaks down as follows:

• Total enrollment (head count) for UA is 25,865 (down 4.5%)
• Main campus enrollment is 24,067 (down 3.9%)
• Enrollment at Wayne campus is 1,798 (down 11.8%)
• Student credit hours for fall are 306,722 (down 2.5%).  UA budgeted for a 4.0% overall decline in student credit hours.  At this point, it is not possible to calculate any improvements to budget, as not all credit hours generate additional tuition (due to the so-called plateau in which students can take 12 to 16 credits for the same tuition price).
• The effort to encourage students to take more courses and earn more credits (Finish in Time) has been successful:
• Nearly 68% of entering freshmen are enrolled in 15 or more credits in their first semester (up 24.5 percentage points)
• 54% of undergraduate students are enrolled in 15 or more credits for fall semester (up 8.7 percentage points)

Provost credits faculty and staff

“Robust initiatives have contributed to improved student performance,” said Provost and Chief Operating Officer Mike Sherman. 

“These initiatives are campus-wide and include extraordinary efforts by faculty and staff in every activity that impacts student success, including enrollment management, admissions, financial aid, orientation, academic support, advising, and student affairs.”

Media contact: Eileen Korey, 330-972-8589 or korey@uakron.edu