UNI Enrollment Drops Sharply For Second Year in a Row, While ISU, Iowa Report Increases

Enrollment at the is down for the second year in a row and dropped more sharply than officials had predicted.

The school enrolled 12,273 students this year, university officials announced today. That is a decrease of 895 students from last year, when UNI enrolled 13,168 students.

It is the second year in a row the school's enrollment has declined, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported. For four years before that, the school's enrollment had been rising. The Courier said this year's numbers are just above 2006, the year UNI President Ben Allen came to the university.

"Our focus continues to be providing the best undergraduate education in the state," Allen said in a prepared statement. "We have a national reputation for our programs in teacher education, accounting, music, and communication sciences and disorders, among others. We will continue to build on that reputation as we strive to be nationally known as a leader in undergraduate education."

University officials said they anticipated an enrollment drop and attributed the lower numbers to a decline in Iowa's high school graduates. Over 90 percent of UNI's student body is from Iowa, a much higher percentage than at Iowa State University or the University of Iowa.

The enrollment drop was greater than officials had previously projected, however, the Des Moines Register reported. UNI had projected enrollment of 12,800 students, which would have been a drop of about 300 from last year.

Some faculty had predicted lower enrollment after closed about 60 academic programs and

In contrast, the Register said, Iowa State and the University of Iowa reported record enrollment. ISU's enrollment increased nearly four percent, to 31,040. UI's increased nearly 2 percent to 31,498.

UNI officials also said the university's multicultural enrollment has increased to an all-time high of 8.1 percent.