Baylor Experiences Jump In Spring 2006 Enrollment, Retention Rates

January 27, 2006

by Lori Fogleman (254) 710-6275

Baylor University has enrolled a total of 13,019 students for the spring 2006 semester, an increase of more than 300 students over last spring's enrollment, according to official 12th-day enrollment statistics compiled by the Office of Institutional Research and Testing.

Baylor officials said the increase can be attributed to last fall's record entering class, as well as improved retention rates from fall to spring for nearly all student groups. Enrollment for the spring 2005 semester was 12,715 students. In spring 2004, Baylor enrolled 12,815 students.

The spring semester's enrollment consists of 10,946 undergraduates; 1,153 graduate students; 381 students in George W. Truett Theological Seminary; and 400 students in Baylor Law School. At the U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences in San Antonio, where Baylor has affiliated graduate degree programs in physical therapy and health care administration, 135 students are enrolled. Another joint U.S. Army-Baylor doctoral program in physical therapy at Brooke Army Medical Center/West Point reported an enrollment of four students.

According to IRT statistics, the retention rate for all undergraduates from fall 2005 to spring 2006 increased slightly to 94.5 percent, compared to 94.2 percent from fall 2004 to spring 2005. For first-time freshmen, the retention rate from fall 2005 to spring 2006 increased to 95.1 percent, compared to 94.3 percent from fall 2004 to spring 2005.

For provisional students, the retention rate from fall 2005 to spring 2006 increased to 91.0 percent, compared to 85.6 percent from fall 2004 to spring 2005. For new transfer students, the retention rate from fall 2005 to spring 2006 increased slightly to 89.8 percent, compared to 89.4 percent from fall 2004 to spring 2005.