Fort Lewis College enrollment, for the first time since 2004, broke the 4,000 mark in 2013-14.
“A number of factors were working to build the enrollment,” FLC spokesman Mitch Davis said Tuesday. “The new masters of arts in education launched with 37 students; we put more emphasis on national reputation building, such as Heidi Steltzer’s nationally recognized research into climate change; and efforts to keep Fort Lewis College affordable and competitive.”
Davis pointed to the cost of tuition and fees at 12 public universities and colleges in Colorado. FLC was next to the lowest at about $7,000. Colorado School of Mines was the most expensive at slightly more than $16,000. Metro State was at the bottom, at just under $6,000.
Enrollment, by head count, increased 5.2 percent, from 3,836 in 2012-13 to 4,034 in 2013-14.
The number of full-time equivalent students also increased in the same time period, from 3,602 to 3,728, an increase of 3.5 percent.
These factoids and others accompany the packet of material prepared for a Board of Trustees meeting Friday. They were provided by the Office of Institutional Research.
Other tidbits about Fort Lewis College, comparing 2013-14 with 2012-13:
The percentage of students who graduated in four years increased to 17 percent from 15 percent. The percentage of students who graduated in six years remained static at 37 percent.
In-state residents comprised 74.6 percent of the student body down from 77.8 percent; out-of-state residents came in at 25.4 percent a jump from 22.2.
The total college budget increased to 70.4 million from $66.5 million, a gain of 5.86 percent. Tuition revenue increased also, 5.1 percent, to 41.6 million from $39.6 million.
Also, FLC has 880 Native American students from 120 tribes, Davis said.
“As long as state funding of higher education remains healthy, FLC can keep tuition increases to a minimum,” Davis said. “This year our resident tuition increased 6 percent. We didn’t increase non-resident for the fifth year in a row.
“We look at the market,” Davis said. “We look at what the state is going to do and what other schools are charging.”
Financial aid increased 14.49 percent, to $7.9 million from $6.9 million.
The ratio of full-time equivalent students to faculty fell to 18.1 to 1 from 19.8 to 1.
daler@durangoherald.com
