UofL of today much different
Enrollment shifts from commuters
By Chris Kenning
ckenning@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Jared Ellis left Morehead, Ky., to attend the University of Louisville this fall because of its solid academic programs.
Reilly McDonald, a freshman from Wisconsin, was lured to U of L by a scholarship giving her a break on out-of-state tuition.
And Katie Wagner said more on-campus housing and a livelier Louisville brought her this year from Independence, Ky.
"I heard the education program was good, and about 10 of my friends are going down here," Wagner said.
Once dominated by local commuter students, University of Louisville enrollment is quietly changing.
Jefferson County students accounted for half of U of L's 21,700 students in 2005, down from 71 percent in 1990.
The shift is the result of several factors, officials say.
Broader recruiting, better academics, higher admission standards and more campus offerings are attracting more students who once dismissed U of L as second tier, they say.
"Before, it was seen more as an inner-city metropolitan college," said Charles Patton, president of the Kentucky School Counselor Association, whose Ohio County students apply in greater number each year. "Now students look at it just like they do UK and Western."
Also playing a part in U of L's changing makeup are other factors, including increased competition for Jefferson County residents from for-profit and Southern Indiana colleges, said U of L admissions director Jenny Sawyer.
While U of L has gotten more competitive -- applicant rejections have doubled since 2000 -- Sawyer said local students aren't being shut out of their own city's main public university.
Those who aren't accepted can enter a program at Jefferson Community and Technical College where they transfer automatically to U of L after earning 24 credits. Last year, 2,039 students joined that program, although not all had first applied to U of L.
U of L's growing statewide presence has been accompanied by new on-campus housing.
The number of students living on campus has more than doubled to about 3,100. That's also meant fewer students leaving for the weekend.
"We'll have 55 to 60 percent of freshmen living on campus this year. In 1995, it was 30 percent," Sawyer said. "It really changes the environment."
Before 1986, the university's open-enrollment policy meant it accepted most students. Since 2000, the university has raised its minimum grade-point or ACT-score standards three times.
Today, applicants must have at least a 2.5 GPA, get at least a 20 on the ACT and have taken a pre-college curriculum in high school.
The new standards have helped raise the average GPA of applicants from 3.1 in 1999 to about 3.5, and increased the average ACT score from 21 to 24, while nearly quadrupling the university's honors program to more than 800.
The university still faces academic challenges, including improving a six-year graduation rate of about 37 percent. The state average is 45 percent.
"The level of students hasn't risen dramatically, but we're getting fewer students who are really unprepared, struggling to do the basic work," said Bronwyn Williams, a professor who directs the university's English composition program.
Some Louisville college students said they're glad U of L has raised standards, even though it requires more preparation from them.
Charlie Waters transferred this year to the U of L's Speed School of Engineering after two years at Jefferson Community and Technical College.
"Had I applied, I probably would've been denied," he said. But being in the community college's smaller classes helped his study habits, while saving him money on tuition, he said.
Sawyer, who each year sifts through 7 percent to 10 percent more applications than the last, said higher standards are only part of the reason for the changing enrollment trends.
Others include "reciprocity" agreements signed in 1997 with colleges such as Indiana University Southeast in New Albany that offered area students in-state rates, sending more Jefferson County students to Southern Indiana, and some Indiana students to Louisville.
U of L's enrollment patterns also were affected by changes in some academic programs since 1990, such as when the university eliminated most associate's degree programs in 1997.
In addition, the university's Metropolitan College partnership with United Parcel Service, where students work and attend school, has brought in students from parts of Kentucky that have lost manufacturing jobs.
Zach Brooks, 20, a junior double-majoring in exercise science and sports administration, said he was attracted by U of L's dorms, campus facilities, sports teams and Louisville itself.
But it's U of L's increasing academic profile that he's banking on to help his job prospects.
"My degree is going to mean more to employers than it would have 10 years ago," he said.
Reporter Chris Kenning can be reached at (502) 582-4697.
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UofL of today much different Enrollment shifts from commuter
