Bemidji State University is welcoming nearly 4,900 students to campus in 2019, with enrollment bolstered by the university’s second-highest fall-to-fall retention rate on record.
For a third time in the last four years, and second year in a row, BSU has a retention rate of 71 percent or higher. This year’s retention rate of 72.3 percent — which measures the percentage of students entering classes during a fall term who return to the institution the following fall — fell just one-tenth of one percent short of its 2018 rate of 72.4 percent. Prior to the last two years, BSU’s highest retention rate on record came in 2009, when it retained 71.7 percent of its students.
Total Enrollment
BSU’s Fall 2019 30th day enrollment headcount is 4,898 — 4,504 undergraduates and 394 graduate students. Those totals represent declines of approximately 4.7 percent in undergraduate enrollment (4,727 in Fall 2018) and 3.7 percent in graduate enrollment (409 in Fall 2018) — in all, BSU’s head count enrollment has declined by 238 students over Fall 2018. This reflects a system-wide trend amongst the seven Minnesota State universities, which are collectively experiencing a total enrollment decline of nearly 3 percent.
BSU experienced a 20.6 percent growth in its Post Secondary Education Opportunities and concurrent enrollment of high school students. PSEO accepts applications from qualified high school seniors, juniors and sophomores. Students who rank in the top 25 percent of their graduating class are eligible to enroll in 1000 and 2000 level courses as BSU while completing their high school graduation requirements.
Enrollment growth remains an important part of Bemidji State’s long-term plans, and a number of recent investments have been made to help the university pursue its goals. In the last year, BSU has added new positions with specific roles in student recruitment as part of its five-year Strategic Plan, including an out-of-state recruitment specialist in the Office of Admissions and a recruiting and outreach specialist in the American Indian Resource Center. BSU has reorganized its International Program Center, adding a new director with specific international recruitment responsibilities, and also has added a position in its Department of Nursing focused on student success. BSU offers in-state or reciprocity tuition rates to all qualified applicants, not just Minnesota residents.
“We’re still in the early stages of these new initiatives, and are expecting to see their efforts begin to positively impact our enrollment beginning as early as Fall 2020,” Michelle Frenzel, executive director of enrollment management, said.
30th Day Enrollment
Bemidji State University produces official fall enrollment figures on the 30th day of classes to coincide with official Minnesota State system-level enrollment data. Reporting on the 30th day allows sufficient time for students to drop or add courses, offering a suitably stable picture of the institution’s enrollment. For Fall 2019, the 30th day of classes fell on Monday, October 7.
Head count reflects an unduplicated number of students enrolled in credit-generating courses on campus and through external study areas such as distance learning.
Contact
- Michelle Frenzel, executive director of enrollment management; michelle.frenzel@bemidjistate.edu, (218) 755-2063
Bemidji State University, located amid the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota, occupies a wooded campus along the shore of Lake Bemidji. Enrolling more than 5,100 students, Bemidji State offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and eight graduate degrees encompassing arts, sciences and select professional programs. BSU is a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities and has a faculty and staff of more than 550. The university’s Shared Fundamental Values include environmental stewardship, civic engagement and international and multicultural understanding. For more, visit bemidjistate.edu or find us at BemidjiState on most of your favorite social media networks.
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