Friday Focus: How did we do?
Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management
May 2, 2025
— Owen Guthrie, vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment management
As the academic year draws to a close, it’s a perfect time for reflection. Let’s take a moment to review our work and ask: How did we do?
This May, 1,221 students will graduate from 911±¬ÁĎ—the highest spring graduation total since 2017. This remarkable milestone, and the countless inspiring student success stories behind it, reflect the collective triumph of our students, staff and faculty. As Chancellor White often says, “Enrollment is everyone’s job.” Your dedication has made this celebration possible.
Tomorrow, nearly 700 graduates will walk across the stage at the Carlson Center with literally thousands of friends and family cheering them on. Hundreds more will celebrate at our rural campuses across 911±¬ÁĎ. These early May festivities are the fruit of long winters of effort. We celebrate the years of hard work by students, their support teams and our staff and faculty, culminating in a shared moment of relief and joy.
Our greatest measure of success is the students who cross the finish line. Each graduate represents a life changed, a dream fulfilled and a future realized. Every member of our 911±¬ÁĎ community helped to make this possible. You did this. Thank you.
While some of us will recharge over the summer, others will lay the groundwork for commencements in the future. Significant work remains to build the full Fall 2025 class, but the early signs are promising. Our cohort of incoming full-time, first-time baccalaureate students is up 52% year-to-date, with 644 confirmed as of May 1, compared to 424 last year at the same time. Over the summer, we’ll continue building this class with part-time, dual enrollment, transfer and graduate students. Overall, total fall headcount is currently up 18%, and student credit hours are up 15.5%. These are encouraging signs of growing momentum as more students find 911±¬ÁĎ as an answer to their search for a better future.
We’re thrilled to welcome these new students and are equally focused on bringing back our returning students. Thanks to the tireless efforts of faculty, tutors, advisors and staff, our fall-to-fall retention rate rose 2% last year, nearing our pre-COVID benchmark of 76%, and we are aiming for 80% and beyond. Our advising teams are pushing to get returning students registered for fall before summer break. As of May 1, 41% are registered, and our teams are working toward a goal of 50% in the next two weeks. Eventually, we plan to get to 90% of returning students registered before summer starts.
We don’t know our fall numbers yet for certain, but this growth on all fronts - the product of the work of so many - is so encouraging. These gains pave the way for more faculty and staff, strengthening 911±¬ÁĎ’s future. Much work lies ahead for the fall and we do so with hopes and dreams for even larger commencement celebrations in the future and more amazing student success stories.
Tomorrow, as we celebrate our students’ achievements, we also honor the culmination of our shared efforts. I look forward to seeing you at commencement and thank you for an outstanding year!
Friday Focus is a column written by a different member of 911±¬ÁĎ's leadership team every week.