Class of ’11 Largest in State History

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

Nov. 9–The largest freshmen class in state history entered Oregon’s seven public universities this fall, reversing a recent trend of flat enrollment, state officials reported Thursday.

University officials hailed the 3 percent growth in undergraduate enrollment as evidence they have achieved a turnaround in size and in reputation among prospective students.

This fall’s statewide enrollment of 82,249 set a record. Portland State and Western Oregon have never been this big.

The leading source of the growth: Out-of-state students from California, Hawaii and elsewhere enrolled as freshman at the three biggest schools — the University of Oregon, Oregon State and PSU — in record numbers.

More than one-fourth of this year’s public university freshmen are from outside Oregon. Their numbers grew a whopping 19 percent from last fall.

In addition, slightly more of Oregon’s high school graduates picked Oregon public universities this fall than high school graduates did a year ago, officials estimate. They say 20.5 percent of Oregon’s high school class of 2007 are now freshmen at a state university, compared with 20.1 percent of the high school class of 2006 who entered last fall.

“The students have heard and their families have heard that the state is reinvesting in its universities,” says Chancellor George Pernsteiner. “We’re a good place to be, and I think they’re getting that message.”

Alina Ward, graduate of a high school in Sitka, Alaska, is among the 1,672 college freshmen who chose Portland State this fall.

She toured a host of California and Washington colleges, too, before making her choice. A daughter of teachers, she knew choosing the right university was important, she said.

“When I visited, I loved the location and the environment. It’s this compact campus surrounded by the city,” Ward said. Now two months into her freshman year, “I love it here.”

Enrollment at the University of Oregon held steady. An extra-large freshman class of 3,587 was enough to offset the near-record number of graduates who finished in 2007.

After falling last year, Oregon State’s enrollment rose 2 percent, largely because of a surge in out-of-state freshmen.

Judged by the number of full- and part-time students enrolled, Oregon Institute of Technology showed the biggest one-year gain after two years of losses. OIT’s gains came not in the freshman class but among nontraditional students including high school students earning college credit and working adults taking online classes in medical imaging and other allied health fields.

When measured by full-time enrollment, Western Oregon showed the biggest gain this year — an increase of 5 percent from last fall.

This fall’s freshman class is 20 percent larger than last year’s, growth the university attributes in part to its attention-getting “Western Promise” deal in which this year’s freshman won’t pay any tuition increases in the next three years.

“I don’t believe that was the single deciding factor for any student, but it was one of many things that made people more interested in the university,” said David McDonald, associate provost. “It was a great way of getting people’s attention, so more and more Oregonians discovered what Western has to offer — small classes, personalized instruction and a tremendous learning environment.”

While undergraduates flocked to Oregon schools this fall, graduate student enrollment fell nearly 4 percent across the seven universities, from 15,381 to 14,846. Officials said a stronger economy means fewer people return to college for additional training. Nearly half the decrease came among “non-admitted” graduate students — those taking a class or two but not pursuing a degree.

Sam Strauss, a 2007 graduate of Portland’s Grant High, said choosing an in-state school has proved a great choice for him so far.

He loves PSU’s size, its city setting, the lifestyle in his freshman dorm, the free-flowing academic atmosphere — everything but the cafeteria food. “I don’t understand how they can make pizza so bad.”

He didn’t know about improved funding from the Legislature, but said his dad monitored those aspects of his college search.

Strauss did pick PSU partly for its ballyhooded yearlong “freshman inquiry” class. So far, his has lived up to the hype, he says. “It’s talking and thinking and questioning and writing — not just being lectured and believing what we’re told.”

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.

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