• 5 percent increase in our freshman cohort; 339 freshmen compared to 324 last fall
• Retention has remained above 70 percent for three years running
• First-time, degree-seeking graduate students are up 71 percent over last fall
• This year’s first-time, full-time, bachelor’s degree-seeking students have the highest average high-school GPA in the past 10 years: 3.431.

These highlights are a testament to everyone on campus, especially our Admissions team, led by Dr. Jeremy Reed. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to growing our freshman enrollment.

Overall, our student headcount is down: 3,493 compared to 3,611 last fall. One of the primary reasons is due to our historically small senior cohort. The current senior class started as the smallest freshman cohort since at least 1993.

While our retention rate remains strong, I’d like to challenge campus to strive toward an 80 percent retention rate. A higher retention rate is a critical component of our enrollment management plan, and it is a metric where everyone on campus plays a part.

Credit hours (a key element in budgeting) are down slightly, due in part to our decrease in overall headcount. However, first-time freshmen and first-time graduate students are taking more credit hours than last year’s class. This is a good indicator, but we need to continue encouraging all our students to take a recommended course load – the result will be more students graduating with degrees and beginning their careers (hopefully in Aberdeen, or at the very least, within the state).

There are many things to celebrate with this year’s class, but there are also several areas of improvement. We owe it to our community and region to unleash a steady stream of talented and work-ready graduates. It’s our job as a higher education institution, and I’m confident we can meet the challenge.

Thank you again for your hard work. Go Wolves!