The University of Wyoming has announced a plan to recruit, retain and graduate more undergraduates over the next five years. The plan is in response to a flat line in student enrollment numbers. Provost Kate Miller said becoming more student-centered is key to the plan’s vision.
That means thinking about how non-academic factors like student wellness, financial literacy and sense of belonging play into a student’s overall academic success.
The Strategic Enrollment Management Plan was developed by a task force of faculty, staff, administrators and an outside consultant. They did research, reviewed data and conducted over 125 interviews over the last year. Miller said several key concepts emerged from the planning process.
“The right way to grow enrollment is to keep the students we already have," she said. "And then number two is to accommodate the transfer students in the state, and that is where we are going to spend our time in the next year or two.”
Then in the third year, Miller said the plan is to expand the focus to also increasing the enrollment of out of state students. The hope is that an increase in the number of Wyomingites who graduate from college will benefit the vitality of Wyoming’s economy.
