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University of Montana, Montana State, count enrollment wins with incoming classes

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University of Montana, Montana State, count enrollment wins with incoming classes

Sep 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm ET
By Keila Szpaller
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University of Montana, Montana State, count enrollment wins with incoming classes
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Students walk between buildings during a class change at Montana State University in Bozeman. (MSU photo by Colter Peterson/Provided by MSU)

Montana’s flagship campuses notched enrollment wins this fall with incoming classes — including the second-largest one for Montana State University — although both universities saw slight dips in total students compared to 2021.

The University of Montana counted its largest incoming class in six years, at 1,351, and one that’s 6 percent bigger than 2021, the campus announced Monday.

Spokesperson Dave Kuntz noted it’s the first time in more than a decade that UM has counted two years in a row of a larger freshman class, which he said positions the campus for “significant growth” in the years ahead.

In a statement, UM President Seth Bodnar also said the campus is “firmly in a cycle of growth,” and he noted retention has improved since 2018 as well.

“UM continues to show a strong enrollment trajectory,” Bodnar said.

Total headcount is 9,955 this fall compared to 10,106 last year, a 1.5 enrollment drop.

However, due in part to a strategic shift in how scholarships based on need are offered to out-of-state students, UM noted its fall tuition revenue hit $40 million, 12.4 percent higher than in 2021.

“We are rewarding less sizable scholarships to a higher number of students,” Kuntz said. 

University of Montana, Montana State, count enrollment wins with incoming classes
(From the Montana University System enrollment dashboard)

The revenue bump is a boon for UM, which saw repeated budget cuts and personnel reductions during the last decade as enrollment started sliding after 2011 and tuition income followed. In 2019, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported the campus had lost more students in the last decade than any other public flagship.

An enrollment dashboard that counts full-time equivalents from the Montana University System shows the line bending up this year.

Also, the main campus counts 8,094 students, more than the 8,074 last year, UM said.

Kuntz noted the overall dip is due in part to a 2 percent drop at Missoula College, which typically trends opposite of the economy. The college generally sees strong enrollment in weak economies and shrinks in healthier times.

Additionally, a graduate professional program that provided a “bridge” for mid-career physical therapists seeking doctorate degrees saw a 143 student decrease, namely Kuntz said because most professionals in the field in the U.S. who want those degrees now have them.

In a statement from UM, College of Health Dean Reed Humphrey said the campus launched this fall a similar “bridge” program for occupational therapists, and the expansion is expected to grow enrollment in the future. He praised the PT program.

“Now in its twelfth year, the clinical doctorate degree academic partnership program is one of the most successful in the country, with nearly 2,000 graduates who are now UM alumni,” Humphrey said.

UM noted student retention held steady at 74 percent. This figure measures the rate of students who return between their first and second year, and it effects the overall enrollment rate and graduation rates. Since Bodnar started as president in 2018, UM noted its student retention rate has risen 6 percent.

Montana State University

MSU-Bozeman touted its second largest incoming class, 3,752 new, first time college students. The campus noted 1,401 were Montana residents, an increase from last fall’s count of 1,381.

“We are thrilled to welcome so many new Bobcats to Montana State and honored that they have elected to spend their college years with us,” said MSU President Waded Cruzado in a statement from the campus. “It is clear that these students see Montana as a gateway to a good-paying job and to the world of possibilities opened by a college degree.”

MSU posted a total enrollment of 16,688, down from its record 16,902 in 2018. However, MSU, which has generally seen growth the last decade, touted itself as the only campus in the state to ever enroll more than 16,000 students.

Gallatin College MSU enrolled 750 students, its third highest count, and saw its highest ever enrollment in one- and two-year workforce development programs at 619, the campus said.

In a step toward one of its strategic goals, MSU also saw its second highest number of graduate students, at 2,057, the campus said.

“Graduate students are the future professionals and researchers who will help the nation face the challenges of the 21st century,” said Craig Ogilvie, dean of the Graduate School, in a statement.

Retention was 75.2 percent at MSU, and the university said it saw increases in retention rates specifically for part-time students and transfer students.

In its news release, MSU announced it had set enrollment records for a number of categories of minority students, including 282 African-American students, 684 Asian students, 950 Hispanic students and 130 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students.

It said American Indian/Alaska Native enrollment was its second highest at 776, a total that represents 9 percent growth in five years.

UM, MSU Highlights

MSU highlights from its news release:

  • MSU saw an overall 3% increase compared to last year in students defined as “under-represented minorities” by the federal government. 
  • The university saw a 6% increase in the number of international students enrolled at 403 total. 
  • MSU’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship saw the largest increase in enrollment university-wide, growing by 8% over last fall with 1,966 students enrolled. The College of Agriculture also saw 6% growth fall-to-fall, enrolling 2,033 students. Both colleges set enrollment records.  
  • MSU’s largest college, Letters and Science, enrolled 3,504 students, followed by the Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering with 3,427 students. 
  • MSU enrolled 136 or 69% of all the students in the state who earned Montana University System Honor Scholarships. 

UM highlights from its news release:

  • 710 first-year Montana students, an 8.4% increase over 2021.
  • 610 Native American students, a 2.2% increase over 2021. This growth builds on the 23% Native American student growth at UM from 2018 to 2021.
  • 279 student veterans, a 6.5% increase over 2021.
  • 250 law school students, a 1.6% increase over 2021.
  • 192 early admit and dual-enrollment students, a 35% increase over 2021.