Metropolitan State University of Denver’s fall census, the annual measure of enrollment and demographic data, has been finalized, and the results are even better than preliminary data showed.
The Early Bird previously reported a nearly 3% boost in undergraduate enrollment over last fall, highlighting the University’s efforts to reverse previous declines. Those preliminary findings have been adjusted upwards, and finalized census data now indicates the undergraduate head count rose from 15,682 to 16,345, or 4.2% from fall 2022 numbers.
The annual census provides a snapshot that reflects University trends and serves as a basis for institutional reporting.
“In addition … fall census data inform strategic planning with regard to recruitment, enrollment and retention efforts,” said Buffy Ribble, Ph.D., interim director of data and analytics.
Census data can be found on the Office of Institutional Research’s dashboard page and also is reflected on the Rowdy Dash, a new tool introduced at a recent Board of Trustees meeting to provide a snapshot reference point for efforts the University is making to reach goals laid out in the 2030 Strategic Plan.
“The Rowdy Dash displays the institution’s success metrics related to students, faculty and staff, and funding,” Ribble said. “The Board of Trustees and University constituents can refer to the Rowdy Dash to track high-level student-success trends, as well as employee turnover rates and progress toward campaign and state funding goals.”
In addition to the enrollment increase, notable year-over-year undergraduate trends include:
- A 6.5% increase in First Generation students (9,154 to 9,754).
- A 7.1% increase in students of color to 55.9% of total student population (8,437 to 9,037).
- A 7.2% increase in federally identified Hispanic students to a 36.7% share of the total student body (5,598 to 6,002).
- A 9.4% increase in African American/Black students to 7.5% of the student body (1,128 to 1,234).
- A total of 152 federally designated American Indian/Alaskan Native students to consist of 0.9% of the student body. This is up from 122 total/0.8% year over year, a 24.6% increase in head count. This demographic at MSU Denver has more than doubled since the fall 2021 counts of 70 total and 0.4%, respectively.
- A 20.2% increase in first-year students, from 29.9% of the student body (4,584) to 34.4% (5,510).
- A 149.3% increase in concurrent-enrollment students, from 420 (a 2.7% share of the population) to 1,047 (6.4%).
- A 4.6% increase in Colorado residents in the student body (14,927 to 15,618).
- An average age of 24.5, down from 24.7.
- A 10.6% increase in part-time status (11 or fewer credits), from 40.6% of the student body (6,362) to 43% (7,034). This reflects a drop in average credit-hour load from 10.9 to 10.5.
Graduate-student enrollment saw a 1.6% head-count increase, from 1,142 to 1,160. There was a 15% increase in federally identified Hispanic graduate students (240 to 276); as a total share of grad students, Hispanic students comprise 23.8%, up from 21% a year ago.
For information on new or existing data-analysis requests, please visit the University’s Business Intelligence page.
Keep an eye out for the University Fact Sheet and updates to the centralized Stat Vault coming this semester.