This spring's enrollment is the largest Ball State has seen since 1996.
Retention has steadily increased during the past three years.
About 3,600 freshmen attended Ball State this fall, and of those, sixty-five dropped out, said David Fried, Associate Dean of Students.
The University was able to retain 90.6 percent of freshmen from Fall Semester.
Before 1997, the retention rate of returning students was 68 percent. The rate increased to 80 percent in the fall of 2003, a goal that was previously set for 2006, according to reports filed by the Dean's office.
In 1997, Ball State received a Lilly Endowment grant aimed at increasing retention rates and freshman involvement. The university was reviewed two years later and received the grant for a second time.-á
"We received the grant again because of the success we were having with our enrollment and retention," Fried said.-á
Douglas McConkey, vice president for Student Affairs, said there are two reasons why this rate has increased.
Freshman involvement groups, such as Freshman Connections, have had an impact, McConkey said. The program is designed to create a sense of community among students in their first year.
"We don't want to say that the Freshman Connections program is solely responsible for students staying here," McConkey said. "There are many other aspects of involving freshmen that have directly affected their decisions to remain at the university."
Increased admission requirements have also had an effect.
In 1998, the average SAT score was 1,013, and the retention rate for freshmen was 68 percent. In 2003, the average SAT scored increased to 1,041 and the retention rate was 80 percent, Augustine said.
"We believe that when students come in with higher academic standards, they are more interested in completing higher education," Fried said.
Freshmen are encouraged to research and choose a major within their first year, giving them a chance to get involved in extracurricular activities. Some students, however, still choose to leave for a number of reasons.
"Because there are no ways to track students who leave at the end of a semester or year, we only have statistics of students who have left in the middle of a term," Katie Slabaugh, assistant Dean of Students said.
Students dropping out during the semester typically don't leave because of high costs or low grades. In the Spring Semester of 2003, 24 percent of students left because of health problems, followed by 8 percent of students choosing a different school. Only 4.7 percent of students left because of cost, Fried said.
When students drop out, they're required to fill out a survey. Slabaugh meets with them individually to find out whether there are any alternatives.
The university doesn't try to sway a students' decision, because in most cases, it's for personal reasons, Slabaugh said.
"When they come in, they have usually made up their mind before we speak," Slabaugh said.
Even though the university has become more focused on involving freshmen, some students still choose to leave.
"Sometimes we'll ask the students if there was anything we could have done to keep them here, and they'll say no, there was nothing," McConkey said.
Another issue for students dropping out is having to pay back loans early or without assistance.
"Some students have ended up paying as much as $2,000 in federal loans, which are set up to be paid back by the university after a student completes an academic year," Fried said. "We advise students to talk to the financial aid office first, and some students decide they would be better off just finishing out the semester or the year."
Statistics show that in the past three years, enrollment has increased, and the percentage of students leaving has decreased.
"We expect to have enrollment between 19,200 to 19,500 students by the 2006-2007 year," Augustine said. "We seem to be on the right track."
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