From left, students Megan Perez, of Aurora, Colo., Clara String, of Sheridan,
and Lekili Grebinger, of Gillette, work in the STEP Tutoring Center in UW’s Coe Library.
The tutoring center is one of a number of student success programs at the university
that have increased student retention, combining with enhanced marketing and recruitment
to boost UW’s spring enrollment. (UW Photo)
Enhanced efforts to recruit and retain students have led to a 1.4 percent increase
in the University of Wyoming’s spring semester enrollment over last year.
The 10,388 students enrolled on the 15th day of classes are up from 10,246 at the
same time last year, reflecting increases in first-time (61.8 percent) and transfer
(1.4 percent) students enrolling at the midpoint of the academic year. Those new enrollments,
combined with a fall-to-spring first-time retention rate exceeding 93 percent, have
produced UW’s first year-over-year overall enrollment increase since before the COVID
pandemic.
“We are pleased that we have largely maintained the solid number of students enrolled
in the fall semester, while adding some new faces who arrived for the spring semester,”
says Kyle Moore, UW’s vice provost for enrollment management. “More and more students
are discovering the incredible value of a UW education, including many hands-on learning
opportunities and experiences that lead to well-paying jobs and satisfying careers.”
The increase in new enrollments this spring is reflected in all three categories of
first-time undergraduate students, transfer students and graduate students (2.9 percent
rise). While Wyoming residents (up 3.4 percent) are responsible for the bulk of the
overall enrollment increase, the biggest share of undergraduates enrolling for the
first time this spring came from out of state.
In recent years, as UW’s in-state student enrollment has started to rebound from the
pandemic, nonresident student numbers have declined. The university has taken a number
of steps to reverse that trend, including enhanced marketing and recruitment efforts
in states including Colorado, Texas, California, Illinois, Arizona and Washington.
Additionally, the university has stepped up its student success efforts, and those
are reflected in the overall enrollment increase as well. The percentage of students
retained from the fall 2024 semester to this spring semester rose to 93.1 percent,
continuing a steady increase from 89.7 percent in the 2020-21 academic year.
Fall-to-fall retention -- the university’s biggest measure of student retention --
rose to 79 percent in the fall 2024 semester, up from 76 percent in 2020.
Among the retention efforts is Saddle Up, UW’s weeklong onboarding program for first-year
students at the start of the fall semester. For students participating in that program
this year, the fall-to-spring retention rate is 93.5 percent. The university’s Cowboy
Coaching peer mentorship program also is having an impact: The fall-to-fall retention
rate for students who met with a Cowboy Coach at least twice during the 2023-24 academic
year was 87.1 percent.
For additional information or questions about UW enrollment, call Moore at (307) 766-4286
or email kyle.moore@uwyo.edu.
Students interested in scheduling campus visits should call UW Admissions at 800-DIAL-WYO
or go online at www.uwyo.edu/visit.
