Published on February 21, 2014 by Philip Poole  

Samford University has set another record for spring semester enrollment, university officials announced Feb. 20.

Spring 2014 enrollment is 4,698, topping the record spring enrollment of 4,605 set in 2012. The 2014 totals are 106 students higher than the spring 2013 enrollment.

The 2014 spring enrollment includes 2,864 undergraduates and 1,834 graduate and professional students.

Samford has had record enrollments in eight of the last nine semesters, including an all-time record of 4,833 in fall 2013.

Spring enrollment typically is lower than the previous fall semester enrollment because of winter graduation and a smaller number of new students who enroll mid-year, according to R. Phil Kimrey, Samford's vice president for enrollment management.

Kimrey also noted the high retention rates from fall to spring semester, averaging 97.5 percent across the four undergraduate classes. That is one percent higher than the retention rate in spring 2013 and represents a positive upward trend, he added.

The record enrollments and high retention rates are the result of university-wide efforts to focus attention on individual students and their academic progress, Kimrey said. Both undergraduate and graduate recruitment has become very aggressive and broadened to national scope.

The record enrollments and high retention rates are the result of university-wide efforts to focus attention on individual students, Kimrey said. This includes faculty and staff attention to individual student academic advisement and initiatives like the university's Academic Success Center that tracks student progress and assists students with academic needs and challenges.

"The caliber of our academic programs and our affordability are strong indicators that our students, and their parents, value the investment they are making in a Samford education," Kimrey said. "Our faculty and staff have worked hard to provide the kind of quality experience that people expect, and that is a hallmark of Samford."

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.