Freshman Enrollment Reaches Record 1,067

Butler University will welcome the largest freshman class in its history, with 1,067 freshmen, when move-in begins Aug. 21-22.

The number far exceeds Butler’s fall enrollment target of 923 and its 2009 freshman count of 946. Total full-time undergraduate enrollment is expected to reach 4,055. Classes begin Aug. 25.

A University task force has been working since June to expand existing campus services, staffing and programs to accommodate the larger class.

To ease overcrowding, 20 rooms in Butler’s Schwitzer and Ross residence halls have been converted from two-person occupancy to temporary triples; they have been offered to freshmen at a reduced cost. Forty-one returning students volunteered to move into apartments on Haughey Avenue, adjacent to the campus, which are owned by Christian Theological Seminary.

The students in Butler’s Class of 2014 come from 36 states and four different countries; 24 freshmen are international. One hundred and thirty-three freshmen — some 12.3 percent of the total class — are multicultural, up from 98 in 2009.

The freshmen claim impressive high school academic achievements, earning an average GPA of 3.69 (on a 4.0 scale). Ten are National Merit/National Achievement scholars; 49 of them were valedictorians; 19 were salutatorians. Thirty-three are Lilly Scholars.

Setting another Butler record, the class has 161 legacy students [descendants of alumni], up from the previous high of 104 in 2009. (See additional distinctions for Butler's incoming freshmen.)

“This is an exciting time for Butler University,” said Levester Johnson, vice president for Student Affairs. “The impressive size of our incoming class is a direct result of our community’s extraordinary efforts. Staff and faculty will work together to offer our new freshmen, and returning students, the best possible undergraduate experience.”

Some 95 percent of Butler’s 2009 freshmen are returning to the University this fall, as compared to the national average freshmen-to-sophomore retention rate of 80 percent.

Tournament Effect on Student GrowthDid Butler’s strong performance in this spring’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament cause the enrollment bounce? There’s no simple “yes” or “no” answer, said Vice President for Enrollment Management Tom Weede.

“The tournament began March 17, two weeks after we had mailed the last notices to students admitted for fall, so there was no effect there.”

Tournament publicity likely motivated some admitted students to complete the enrollment process, he said. Butler’s yield, or total of admitted students who enrolled for fall, rose from19 percent to 22 percent, after a 10-year decline. Additional outreach by admission staffers to admitted students probably affected those numbers as well, Weede said.

Other changes in admission numbers between fall 2009 and fall 2010:
· Applications rose 8 percent from 6,241 to 6,759.
· The University lowered its acceptance rate from 79 percent to 73 percent of applicants.
· Total students offered admission was intentionally kept near the same level — 4,945 in 2010 versus 4,925 in 2009.

Weede predicted that Butler will see more admission impact from the tournament spotlight in 2010-2011. “Other schools that have had significant news coverage during a tournament run have seen application increases of 7–20 percent,” he said.