Census 2009: enrolment on the rise

October 30, 2009

By Mark Ferguson

Enrolment is up across the country, and for the first time since 2003, more students are attending the University of Saskatchewan this year than the previous year - a positive sign considering the decrease in the high school student population in the province and increased competition from other post-secondary institutions.

According to the university's 2009 Enrolment Report, there are 19,655 students attending the U of S, up from 19,201 students at this time in 2008, and only 129 students fewer than the university's peak population in 2004.

On census day, October 8, the number of undergraduate students was up slightly over last year, by 1.19 per cent or 191 students, bringing the total number to 16,285. The more impressive figure coming out of the report is the number of students enrolled in PhD and master's programs. That cohort grew by 8.9 per cent, or 211 students, for a total of 2,591 graduate students.

“This is good news,” said David Hannah, associate vice-president of student and enrolment services, “and it marks an important milestone in the university's grad student enrolment. The U of S has now achieved the 2003 Enrolment Plan's goal of 2,500 grad students by 2010, and is making good progress towards its long-term goal of seeing graduate student comprise 15 per cent of total student enrolment.

“A key factor here is the significant investment the institution has made into graduate scholarships and bursaries,” said Hannah.

These sentiments were shared by Lawrence Martz, dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research, who agreed that scholarships and fellowships are helping the university attract new graduate students. An increase of $1 million in graduate scholarships was included as part of the university's second integrated plan, and there has been an increase of nearly half that amount so far, said Martz.

“The other big reason for the increase is the recruitment of students into the new professional programs offered in the three new graduate schools.”

Another area of growth, according to the report, is the number of new international students in the direct entry colleges and Open Studies. That headcount increased by 80 students, or nearly half of the total increase in new undergraduates.

Hannah said “this is particularly encouraging considering there was a decline in this area last year. Some of this can be attributed to more timely processing of international applications in the admissions office.”

Although the report shows that student headcounts are generally up, university revenue is dependent on the total number of credit units students take. The 2009 enrolment report shows the number of three credit unit equivalents increased by about 0.9 per cent over last year.

“It is of concern that credit unit numbers are not growing in the same way as the student population. The main effect is on revenue, but the fact that the number is up is a good thing,” said Hannah, who suggested there could be a number of reasons why students enrolled at the U of S are taking fewer credit units per semester. These include the norm of graduate students taking smaller course loads and undergraduate students taking fewer courses so they can work as well as study.

Looking at enrolments in individual colleges, the report shows increases in education and engineering but modest declines in law, nursing and arts and science. The reasons for the decreases vary by college, said Hannah, adding that because “nearly half of all undergraduates are enrolled in arts and science, we will be focusing on actions we can take to turn this trend around in the future. At the same time though, retention rates with the College of Arts and Science are up noticeably so they are moving in the right direction.”

According to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC), there are 38,000 more full-time students enrolled in universities across Canada this fall compared to last. The economic downturn was considered one of the key factors in the growth, since there are more jobs for university graduates than for those without a degree. Immigration and international students were also cited as reasons for the increase.

Martz thinks there is a another reason more students are attending post-secondary institutions: “It's not the economic downturn bringing students here, it's the boom of the knowledge economy.”