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Final enrollment figures for spring 2010 show that 20,402 students are enrolled at the University of Memphis. That compares favorably to the 19,343 students enrolled in the spring of 2009. This year’s additional 1,059 students represent a 5.4 percent increase.

When broken down by degree level, the 2010 baccalaureate student enrollment is 15,663; that’s 664 more than last spring’s figure of 14,999, or a 4.4 percent increase.

Dr. Ralph Faudree, U of M provost, credited the increase to the University’s aggressive recruitment efforts for new and transfer students, as well as several effective retention programs that assist students early in their university experience, making it more likely that they will remain in school.

Doctoral level students increased to 935 this spring, compared to 876 last spring, an increase of 59 students, or 6.7 percent.

The greatest increase came at the master’s level. The number of students enrolled in master’s programs this spring is 3,405. That is 338 students more than last spring’s 3,067, for an 11 percent increase. Dr. Karen Weddle-West, U of M vice provost for Graduate Studies, said there has been a concerted effort by the Graduate School to recruit more aggressively, particularly among high-ability, upper-level undergraduates. “One of our most successful programs is the Graduate Recruitment Fair,” Weddle-West said. “The next one is scheduled for the afternoon of March 16 in the Rose Theatre. It’s a free event, open to anybody who is interested in attending graduate school at the University of Memphis.”

Arts and Sciences, the largest college in the University, enrolled 4,957 students this spring, compared to last spring’s enrollment of 4,565. The additional 392 students represent an 8.6 percent increase, the largest increase in a single college.