Total enrollment at the University of Southern Indiana dropped 5.4 percent in 2014, from 9,902 to 9,364 students, according to a statement released Saturday by the University’s Communications Department.
“Overall student enrollment is a puzzle with many pieces,” said Kindra Strupp, Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications. “In part, deliberate actions to increase admission standards have reduced the overall headcount.”
The result of tightening admission standards is the incoming freshman grade point average is the highest in the University’s history, 3.27.
Additionally, GPAs of this year’s 2,611 first-time undergraduates, transfer and graduate students are at a University all-time high for the second year in a row.
“At one point in our history we were more of an open enrollment institution, but that’s not the case today,” Strupp said. “Over the last decade the University’s standards have been raising.”
Strupp adds that despite overall enrollment, the number of graduates has increased by 18 percent over the past two years.
“While this is good news for USI and our matriculating students, we have to continue to look at ways to attract new students,” said USI President Linda L. M. Bennett in a statement. “The reality is that the demand and competition for these students is higher than ever. It’s our job, both as an institution and as a community, to make sure students are knowledgeable about the excellent educational opportunities that await them here at USI.”