Most colleges here are reporting record enrollment this fall, though some have seen a slight dip in the number of incoming freshmen.


Eastern Washington University says it topped the 10,000 mark in enrollment for the first time this fall, with 10,005 students enrolled for the new academic year, up 137 students, or 1.4 percent from a year earlier.


EWU says its freshmen enrollment fell by 184 students to 1,447, down 13 percent from fall 2005, but that its student retention rate more than made up for that decline. The university noted that 7,014 of its students from last year returned to campus this fall, up 5.7 percent, or 378 students, from the number who returned a year earlier.


The retention rate is above what weve seen in the past, says EWU spokesman David Rey. That was a priority, and we were happy to see that.


Even with the decline in freshmen, EWU enrolled 99 more freshmen this fall than it had anticipated based on applications. It says that a higher ratio of applicants ultimately chose to enroll at EWU than had done so in previous years.


University President Rodolfo Arevalo says the freshman class this year also is the most racially diverse in the schools history, with 28.5 percent identifying themselves as ethnic minorities or multiracial, up 8 percentage points from a year earlier.


Were making giant strides in becoming a more diverse and inclusive campus, Arevalo says.


Gonzaga University


Gonzaga University enrolled 6,736 students this fall, up 267 students, or 4.1 percent, from a year earlier.


Growth is right where we want it to be, says Dale Goodwin, spokesman for the Jesuit school.


Gonzaga has renovated or expanded 13 buildings in the last five or six years, he says, adding that, Weve got the infrastructure for the students we have.


Fall 2006 enrollment included 4,278 undergraduates, 1,657 students in masters degree programs, 121 students in doctoral programs, 555 law-school students, and 125 noncredit students. Enrollment was up in all categories except the law school, which had 577 students a year earlier.


Gonzaga is in the midst of a strategic plan that will include goals for student body size and for the types of students the university wants to attract, Goodwin says. We hope to have it approved in February, he says. It will have room for growth in the future, but certainly nothing drastic.


The university admitted 977 freshmen for fall semester, down nine students from fall 2005. It fielded 42,763 inquiries from potential students, resulting in 4,965 applications for fall enrollment, up 14 percent from a year earlier.


The rising interest is due to an emphasis on recruiting and retaining high-quality students, along with the national publicity Gonzaga has garnered from having eight straight appearances by its mens basketball team in the NCAA championship tournament, Goodwin says.


The average grade point for students accepted to Gonzaga this year was 3.72, up from 3.67 in 2005. The average SAT score for incoming freshmen was 1,195, up from 1,192 the year earlier.


Goodwin says Gonzaga expects by May 15 to open its 220-bed Kennedy Apartment complex, which was destroyed by fire earlier while under contruction. The University also has refurbished Marian Hall, the former residence hall for Holy Names Academy, on Boone, three blocks east of campus.


Whitworth College


Fall enrollment at Whitworth College was 2,504 students, up 2.6 percent from last fall, the private Presbyterian college says. The school now has 2,256 undergraduate students and 248 graduate students.


The freshman class is 470 students, up from 451 in fall 2005.


The retention rate for freshmen and sophomores is 89 percent, which is exceptionally high, says Greg Orwig, Whitworth spokesman.


We think thats one of the best indicators were attracting good, capable students, and orienting them to college life and the academic rigors of what it takes to do well here, he says of the retention rate.


Applications, meanwhile, are way up, Orwig says. Whitworth received 2,689 applications for fall 2006, up from 2,062 a year earlier and 1,115 in 2000.


Average SAT scores for incoming freshmen edged over 1,200. That puts us in the category of University of Puget Sound and Whitman, he says, referring to the two other colleges, also private, in Washington state that he says have the highest average SAT scores among incoming freshman.


Despite increased interest from prospective students, Whitworth is maintaining moderate growth in student numbers, he says.


Whitworth recently tore down two older dorms and built a larger 160-bed residence hall, increasing on-campus beds by 100. Orwig says the college also is on the lookout to acquire residential property on the campus periphery for student housing.


WSU-Spokane


Washington State University at Spokane enrolled 1,580 students this fall, up 45 students, or 2.9 percent, from the fall of 2005.


Campus spokeswoman Barb Chamberlain says the number of students attending WSU-Spokane full time rather than part time rose even higher, helping to drive up the number of FTE students this fall to 1,367, an increase of 74 FTE students, or 5.7 percent. State funding for the university is based on the FTE number.


Health sciences are the biggest contributors to student growth, she says. For example, WSUs Spokane campus saw a bump of 38 FTE students in its pharmacy program this year, she says.


One program added in recent years offers a bachelors degree in exercise physiology and metabolism. Its the only degree of its type nationally that brings exercise and nutrition together, Chamberlain says. The program has increased to 15 students this year, from nine last year.


Meanwhile, the campuss education administration program, which has served about half of the school superintendents currently working in Washington state, has 58 FTE students, an increase of 12 over last year.


Other offerings at WSU-Spokane include architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, criminal justice, and leadership and professional studies.


Community colleges


The head count at Community Colleges of Spokane totaled 16,118 as of Oct. 23, about 1 percent fewer than a year earlier, says district spokeswoman Anne Tucker. Most students enrolled in the community college districts schools attend class part time, and that total head count equates to 3,965 full-time equivalent students for the quarter, Tucker says.


The district operates Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College, and the Institute for Extended Learning.


Spokane Community College has added diagnostic medical sonography to its curriculum, while Spokane Falls Community College has added music audiology. The Institute for Extended Learning has launched additional welding, machining, and hydraulics-pneumatics programs.


North Idaho College, in Coeur dAlene, posted a 5.4 percent increase in enrollment for fall 2006, with 4,631 students, up 239 students from a year earlier.


Trends at NIC show a continuing shift from full-time to part-time students, growth in the number of high school students earning college credits in the dual-enrollment program, an increase in the schools outreach centers in the five North Idaho counties, and more offerings for senior citizens.


This year, 46 percent of NIC students are enrolled as part-time students, up 4 percentage points from a year earlier. NIC President Michael Burke attributes the increase in part-time students to an upswing in the local economy.


When more people are working full time, they are taking more part-time classes, Burke says.


NIC filled its 200-room dorm and had a waiting list prior to the Aug. 28 opening of the fall semester.


Contact Mike McLean at (509) 344-1266 or via e-mail at mikem@spokanejournal.com.