By MATT PIKE
For a fifth consecutive year, spring enrollment at Northwest Missouri State University has surpassed 7 ,000 students.
University President Lance Tatum says it's a testament to the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff at the university
“Everyone is very focused on building enrollments and building sustainable enrollments,” Tatum tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “So, to see that there was success again this spring just reassures that we are on the right path.”
Tatum says the culture developed at Northwest has made the university an attractive spot for students, due to focus on its students
"I’m really proud of the way in which our staff and faculty have really kind of leveled up to make sure that students who arrive on campus get a great first start in the fall and then choose to continue with us through the spring and beyond,” Tatum says.
Spring enrollment at Northwest was 7, 674 students. Among that number there were 4,315 undergraduate students, which marks a 4% increase from the previous year.
Tatum says there has been a more focused approach on growing that undergraduate population of students on campus in Maryville, by developing new strategies
"We have invested heavily in our admissions recruiting processes, we’ve brought on new software platforms, we’ve expanded our creative, we’ve increased our exposure and frequency on our social media platforms really focusing on finding the right fit student for Northwest,” Tatum explains. “And I think that’s really the secret that we’re really focused on, and that is not just quantity of numbers, but finding the right students in terms of Northwest satisfying what they’re trying to accomplish in their collegiate career.”
With the positive enrollment this year, Northwest saw an 88% retention rate, as well as a 94% persistence rate which tracks students who complete their degree programs.
Tatum says that 88% is good, but the goal is to be even higher
"Our goal is to get above 90%, I would love for us to be somewhere in that 90 to 91% range,” Tatum says. “I think that really shows that we’re recruiting students to Maryville and then they’re choosing to stay beyond that first semester.”
Tatum is aware that the 90 to 91 percent is a stretch goal and that there are a number of factors that may cause students to leave college between the fall and spring
"In some cases, students get here, it’s not the place they thought they were coming to for whatever reason, so they leave after their fall semester,” Tatum explains. “You know there’s financial considerations that sometimes play into this, students miscalculate the amount of cost there is with attending a university, and so they can’t go beyond their first fall semester.”
Tatum though believes to push the number up is the first step in building the full retention number, in terms of getting first from fall to spring, then your first to second year, and so on.
Typically, enrollment numbers drop in the spring semester, but Northwest has seen consistent numbers since 2022, when the university had a record of 8,817 students enrolled.
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