University Of Idaho Reports Enrollment Is Down School Not Surprised By 5 Percent Drop Over Last Year

Enrollment numbers are down at the University of Idaho, but administrators generally expected that.

According to the school’s 10th day enrollment count, there are 11,133 students: a 5.1 percent decrease from fall 1995’s 11,727.

Registrar Reta Pikowsky said her counterparts all over the country are reporting slightly lower numbers. She said these figures are more likely to remain static in the coming years.

“I haven’t talked to anybody who’s expecting a big upswing,” she said.

Interim Provost George Simmons said the school’s enrollment makes good sense, given national trends.

“We are not alarmed, except with the out-of-state enrollment,” he said.

Non-resident students on the Moscow campus have decreased 8.1 percent from 2,681 students in fall 1995 to 2,464 students this year.

This decrease was expected, Simmons said, given the rise in out-of-state tuition.

Mark Brainard, university budget director, said tuition increases have hit non-resident students pretty hard.

In 1992-93, tuition per semester for an entering non-resident student was $1,450. In 1993-94 that number increased to $1,950; it rose to $2,207 in 1994-95; $2,690 in 1995-96 and this fall, non-resident tuition per semester is $2,826.

Resident student fees are $884 per semester this year. Non-resident students pay this fee along with tuition, so taking in all costs, their academic year total is $7,420.

Despite the numbers, Simmons and Pikowsky agreed attending the school is still a bargain.

“We’re still a good deal, but not as good a deal as we were,” Simmons said.

With minority student enrollment, because the university is dealing with such small numbers, Simmons said “percentage changes don’t mean a lot.”

Overall, minority enrollment is down 8.8 percent.

There are 154 Asian American students, down 3.8 percent; 59 African American students, down 6.3 percent; 173 Hispanic students, down 7.5 percent; and 103 Indian students, down 18.3 percent.

Simmons said the number of students living on campus should increase to about 15,000 in 15 to 20 years.

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