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Monday, July 20, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
ENROLLLMENT
From Page 1
we had to admit more students to
get to it," she said.
According to Ted Spencer, asso-
ciate vice provost and executive
director of the Office of Under-
graduate Admissions, this year's
decrease in yield - the percent-
age of applicants offered admis-
sion that send in deposits - is not
unique to the University. Many
colleges and universities across
the nation are seeing similar
trends, possibly in light of the
economy.
"The Office of Financial Aid also
is working very hard, in response
to the current economy, to get
financial aid dollars into the hands
of students and their families who
need them, and to meet the full
demonstrated financial need of all
in-state students who are offered
admission," Spencer said.
The budget passed by the Uni-
versity Board of Regents for the
2009-2010 academic year includes
the largest increase in financial
aid to date.
Pamela Fowler, executive direc-
tor of the office of Financial Aid,
wrote in a University Record
article published last week that in
applied to the University than
ever but yield has decreased, the
University is trying to provide an
affordable education to its many
qualified applicants.
"The university's 2009-10 gen-
eral fund budget includes $118
million dollars in centrally funded
financial aid, a $10 million-dollar
increase over last year," Fowler
wrote. "Thisincludes$73.7million,
an 11.7-percent rise, in centrally
awarded financial aid available to
undergraduate students. We are
doing everything we can to put
those dollars in the hands of stu-
dents and their families who need
it."
Fowler wrote in an e-mail inter-
view July 13 that the increase in
financial aid available to under-
graduate students yields a maxi-
mum amount of $1,700 in grant
aid that an individual student
may receive for 2009-2010, which
exceeds the increase in tuition and
housing for incoming freshmen by
approximately $600.
In addition, Fowler wrote that
the University is adjusting finan-
cial aid packages to include more
students from families that have
been adversely affected by the
economic crisis by increasing the
number of students eligible for
Pell Grant awards by 3 percent and
eligible for University institutional
grant funds by 12 percent.
According to Lester Monts,
senior vice provost of academic
affairs, the University administra-
tion is also ensuring the most qual-
ified applicants from this year's
large pool will be able to afford to
come to the University.
"The interest of so many highly
qualified applicants continues to
be gratifying to the University
community," Monts wrote in the
University Record article. "Equal-
ly important is the compelling
need to be sure the University of
Michigan is financially accessible.
"We have aggressively raised
substantial contributions from
alumni and friends to support
financial aid. This has allowed us
to consistently increase student
aid to unprecedented levels, well
above any rises in tuition. And we
have a longstanding commitment
to meet the full demonstrated
financial need of students who
are residents of the state of Michi-
gan."
This year the University saw an
increase in applicants from within
Michigan. According to Spencer,
63 percent of all prospective fresh-
men who applied were Michigan
residents - up from 59 percent
last year.
number of applications from
Michigan-resident students, and
proportionally more in-state stu-
dents have been offered admission
this year (63 percent) over lastyear
(59 percent)," Spencer wrote in an
e-mail interview. "At the same
time, we received fewer applica-
tions from non-residents."
Spencer wrote that the Univer-
sity doesn't know whether or not
the economy played a role in stu-
dents' enrollment decisions.
"The degree to which the econ-
omy may have been a factor in
the student's decision to attend
college is yet to be determined,"
he said. "At this point, we do not
have enough trend data to make an
accurate assumption."
Spencer also wrote that the
University tries to set the under-
graduate population at 26,000 stu-
dents, which is another factor that
determines the size of incoming
classes.
This year marks the second
admissions cycle since the pas-
sage of Proposal 2, a 2006 ballot
initiative that prohibited race and
gender from being considered in
admissions decisions. The number
of applications from women rose
to 14,628 this year, an increase of
71 from the last cycle. Of all female
applicants admitted, 3,218 paid the
of 164 compared to last year.
The number of applications
from underrepresented minorities
- interpreted as African Ameri-
cans, Hispanic Americans and
Native Americans - also increased
this year. Of the 2,879 underrepre-
sented minority applicants - up
100 from last year - 1,422 were
offered admission, which is an
increase of 102 from the previous
year. But despite the increase in
offers of admission, the yield has
decreased, following the overall
trend. So far, the University has
received 580 deposits from under-
represented minority applicants
as opposed to 638 at this time last
year.
Spencer wrote that University
administrators strive to maintain
enrollment numbers by encour-
aging admitted students to attend
the University.
"We proactively reach out to
admitted students to encourage
them to choose Michigan and,
ultimately, enroll in classes by Fall
Term," Spencer said. "President
Mary Sue Coleman, some members
of her leadership team, University
staff, faculty, current students,
alumni and friends of the Univer-
sity all join this effort every year."
- Daily News Editors Jasmine
Zhu and Stephanie Steinberg con-