Westminster College Freshman Class Grows by 15%

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Helen Langan
(801) 832-2680

August 31, 2005

Westminster also Welcomes Largest-ever Class of Graduate Students

Salt Lake City (August 31, 2005) -Westminster College today welcomed an incoming class of 355 freshmen, an increase in freshmen enrollment of 15% versus last year. The class is notable for its outstanding academic record and the increased diversity of the students. Additionally, with 143 incoming graduate students, the college will have the largest number of graduate students in its history.

The class of 355 freshmen, one of the college’s largest incoming classes in the college’s history, includes students from 30 states and four countries, with 16% of the class from under-represented groups.

In terms of pure academic accomplishment, the freshman class at Westminster possesses an average high school grade point average of 3.5, well above the national average for high school seniors. The Westminster College class of 2008 also includes:

• 8 National Merit Finalists
• 3 National Hispanic Scholars
• 2 Sterling Scholars
• 11 Valedictorians

“We are pleased to welcome such an accomplished class of students to Westminster. Their education and life experience to this point demonstrate they are hard-working, determined, open-minded and ambitious individuals who will flourish in the academically rigorous environment Westminster offers,” remarked Vice President of Enrollment Management Joel Bauman.

Bauman continued, “The Westminster College students, faculty and staff comprise an exemplary community of learners and this group of new students will be a great addition to that community. We are especially proud of the high number of National Merit Finalists and National Hispanic Scholars who have chosen to attend Westminster. This is another demonstration of the unique appeal that our challenging and supportive academic environment offers.”

The freshman class includes students from all four corners of the state, including graduates from Snow Canyon High School (St. George), Grand County High School (Moab), Unitah High School (Vernal), Tooele High School, Viewmont High School (Bountiful), Timpview High School (Provo), Brighton High School, West High School, Skyline High School (Salt Lake) and Park City High School. The class also includes graduates from some of the state’s most prestigious private schools, including Rowland Hall-St. Marks, Waterford, Judge and Juan Diego High School.

Students who identified themselves as Hispanics, American Indian, African American and Asian are among the under-represented population mentioned above.

MBA and Masters of Science in Nursing Draw Record Enrollment
The college’s newly redesigned M.B.A. program will have 93 incoming students, an increase of eight percent versus last year. This growth bucks a nation-wide trend of declining enrollment at many M.B.A. programs.

“We designed the new M.B.A. program with the needs of students and desires of employers in mind. With its interdisciplinary curriculum, flexible schedule and fixed pricing, the new M.B.A. program appeals to professionals who want advance their careers in today’s dynamic business environment,” said Aric Kraus, interim dean of the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business.

Nationwide demand for new nurses, and the addition of a new Master of Science in Nursing Education degree led to a two-fold increase in the number of incoming nursing students at the graduate level. Enrollment in Westminster’s other graduate programs, Masters of Education and the Master of Communication, remained even with past years.