The College of Graduate Studies saw an overall increase of 2 percent in fall graduate applications, and overall graduate programs admitted 4 percent more students. Now only time will tell, if that increase will translate into higher enrollment for the college.
Steven Neiheisel, assistant vice president of enrollment management, said because people think in terms of undergraduate enrollment when they see large percentages they assume the actual numbers must be large, but this is often not the case for graduate programs because they are smaller to accommodate the increased focus level. He said while these percentage increases are no doubt significant for the graduate programs they have little impact on total enrollment.
College of Graduate Studies Dean, Jie Chen, said he believes the increased number of applicants is a result of strong programs and increased demand for highly skilled workers.
Chen said because of the poor economy there is a higher demand for graduate programs as students seek more in-demand skill-sets. He said while people of all levels of education will suffer more during periods of sluggish job growth advanced degree holders are always in high demand. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists the unemployment rate for persons 25 and older (as of 2012) with college degrees as follows: doctoral degrees, 2.5 percent; professional degrees, 2.1 percent; master’s degrees, 3.5 percent; bachelor’s degrees, 4.5 percent.
Chen said another draw to students interested in UI is how affordable programs are. He said this is due in part to efforts of the college to support students. He said a significant portion of the 2,325 students enrolled last fall worked as teaching or research assistants. Chen said these students receive stipends, out-of-state tuition waivers, and discounted fees.
Jerry McMurtry, associate dean of the College of Graduate Studies, said students are drawn to UI’s research because it is high quality and focused on a wide variety of areas. McMurtry said a slow economy leads to increased interest in all sectors of higher education, a phenomenon explained by the economic concept of opportunity cost — when unemployment is high and one is unlikely to be employed anyway it is less costly to work towards higher education because you aren’t forgoing an income.
McMurtry said UI’s signature research themes help when it comes to recruiting new students. These themes include real-time evolution, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education, human communities — the transition of landscapes from the wilderness to urbanization; and the relationship between energy production and the environment.
Neiheisel said when it comes to recruiting graduate students it is all about academic programs and research which contrasts with undergraduates who are more concerned about the overall college experience.
Neiheisel said he thinks any enrollment successes are likely due to the changes in recruiting efforts about four years ago including expansion of recruitment outreach and a bigger staff. He said at this point they are holding fairly steady with their recruitment efforts until the new executive leadership at UI is finalized. Neiheisel said once the transition period is over it will be up to the new leadership to guide the enrollment efforts in a new direction.
Andrew Deskins can be reached at [email protected]