ASC Enrollment is at an All Time Hight Three Years Running

Photo Taken By Linda Relyea

Megan Smith
The Paw Print

This year’s Adams State College freshman class numbers 582, an increase of more than 4 percent over 2010, according to Eric Carpio, assistant vice president for enrollment management. Adams State’s enrollment record was broken in 2010 by 2.9 percent. The previous enrollment record was set in 1970, during the Vietnam War.
More than 30 percent of the incoming class are graduates of San Luis Valley high schools.  To deal with the high influx of students the numbers of occupants in some resident apartments have doubled.  In addition, transfer students increased more than 11 percent, Carpio said.
Adams State’s total undergraduate enrollment is up 4.6 percent, with 2,219 on-campus students and 225 enrolled in Extended Studies courses through distance education. Of these students 54.7 percent are female and 44.9 percent are male. Also, 1757 students are under 24 years of age and younger and 445 are over 25 years of age.  Even more important is the growth in student credit hours – up 8 percent over 2010 – which means more students are taking larger credit loads.
“We are encouraging students to take at least 15 credits per semester, to decrease their time to graduation,” noted Dr. Michael Mumper senior vice president for enrollment. Students must take a minimum of 12 credits a semester to qualify as full-time, but an average of 15 is necessary to finish in four years. “This year we deliberately changed our tuition structure to encourage earlier degree completion,” he added. “Our full-time tuition and fee rate of $2,813 per semester covers 12-20 credits for undergraduates who are Colorado residents.” More than 83 percent of Adams State’s undergraduates are state residents.
According to the Adams State College Quick facts Reports student are enrolling certain programs more than others. For example students majoring in Business increased from 297 last year to 356 this year. Growth also continues in several undergraduate programs. The number of students majoring in HPPE (Human Physiology and Physical Education) is up 27 percent and Bachelor of Science in Nursing, up 25 percent. The total number of undergraduates who are “undecided” about their major decreased eight percent.
With the increase of students there has been an increase in diversity. Hispanic student enrollment at Adams State this semester is up slightly, to 33 percent. Other ethnicities include 131 African American, 45 Native American, 27 Asian, and six Hawaiian students. 99 are Multi-Racial and other ethnicities.