The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is seeing an overall increase in enrollment since spring 2015 after aggressive recruitment efforts.
Linda Okiror, vice president of enrollment management and student success at UAPB, said the university has enrolled a total of 2,460 students for spring 2017, of which 2,364 are undergraduate students and 91 are graduate students.
UAPB enrolled 2,821 students in fall 2016: 2,721 undergraduates and 100 graduates; 2,343 students in spring 2016: 2,241 undergraduates and 102 graduates; 2,658 students in fall 2015: 2,545 undergraduates and 113 graduates; 2,216 students in spring 2015: 2,104 undergraduates and 112 graduates; and 2,513 students in fall 2014: 2,401 undergraduates and 112 graduates.
“First of all, we are reaching out to new students,” Okiror, who holds a doctorate degree in crop physiology from the University of Minnesota, said. “Our enrollment is a function of retaining existing students and attracting new students. When you talk about reaching out, we are doing that in many ways to keep our existing students and attract new students.”
A historically black institution, UAPB employees are visiting high schools and community colleges in Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee and Dallas, Texas. They are travelling on university-owned buses.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We bought the buses in 2014 and are doing a much richer and expanded outreach to students,” Okiror said. “That coincides with the establishment of the Division of Enrollment Management and Student Success. We are becoming more proud of our retention rate. It was 73 percent from fall 2016 to spring 2017, which is a major benefit.”
Okiror founded the Learning Institute and Opportunities for New Students or LIONS, which helps freshmen transition to college life. This program is currently scheduled to enroll 200 students in summer 2017.
“This program plays a huge role in growing our freshmen class,” Okiror said. “About 30 percent of our freshmen come through the LIONS or [Science/Technology/Engineering/Mathematics] program. The retention rate is higher for both sets of students.
“Our admissions people recruit students. A team of faculty can access information on our website on students who applied to UAPB. A math professor will contact a student who is interested in studying math.”
UAPB developed a strategic plan that forecasts enrollment to grow to 4,000 students. Okiror hopes to enroll 3,000 students by fall 2017.
“Our retention rate from fall to spring has improved,” Okiror said. “In the past, we could have a large freshmen class but lose many by December.”
The university employees advertise UAPB as a school that offers academic and social development, she said. Furthermore, they discuss majors, career services, getting jobs after graduation, scholarships and student success services.
“We have a student success center and a living learning center in two dormitories,” Okiror said. “We have 30 tutors across six locations. Our freshmen retention rate was 56 percent in 2010 to 70 percent in 2015. That is huge. Our total retention rate was 69 percent in 2010 to 76 percent in 2016.
“Forty percent of our students live on campus. We know that students who live on campus have a greater sense of belonging. They tend to be retained and graduate. In 2012, only 81 percent of our freshmen were retained by the spring. Due to our efforts, we are now retaining 86 percent of our freshmen.”