Diversity, Size Mark WSU Class School Braces For Bigger, Brighter Freshmen

With school starting Monday, Washington State University officials are bracing for a freshman class that is 15-20 percent bigger than last year’s, officials said Friday.

WSU Provost Gretchen Bataille said she’s already fielding calls from faculty members concerned about having enough class sections to meet the student demand.

“That’s why I’m holding my breath,” she said.

Enrollment figures won’t be officially tallied until the 10th day of classes, but WSU officials based their estimate on residence hall deposits, Greek rush numbers and early registrations.

The incoming class is also more diverse than ever before, Bataille said. There are more students of color, and 52 percent of the class is women.

“That’s a real change for a land-grant institution,” Bataille said.

Land-grant universities, particularly those with large agricultural and engineering colleges, have traditionally attracted more male than female students, WSU President Sam Smith said.

Last May, WSU graduated more women than men for the first time in the school’s history, said Smith.

Proud WSU officials also announced the incoming class’s impressive academic merits. WSU’s honors program is expected to see a 20 percent increase, and thus far the freshman class boasts an average grade-point average of 3.4.

“The decision was made a year ago to go out and recruit high-quality freshmen, and we did it,” Bataille said.

Smith said he was optimistic that the high-quality students would be a positive force as the school attempts to combat alcohol abuse.

“The better the student, the better the culture will be on campus,” Smith said.

Bataille attributed WSU’s recruiting success to new campuswide academic involvement. Deans, faculty members and multicultural student representatives now have a more active hand in recruiting, she said.

“It’s still that personal touch and the one-on-one experiences,” Bataille said. “It’s really important to have that faculty involvement.”

In addition, the amount of scholarship money available has increased threefold since the end of WSU’s fund-raising campaign, Bataille said.