General Education Curriculum

Program Review

May 1996

C. National and Local Enrollment Trends

The following tables represent enrollment trends on the local, state, and national levels. The General Education component is unique in the importance and impact of this program for it cannot be quantified as readily as the program of a specific discipline. A comparison of Millersville University Freshman enrollment to that of high school graduates who went to college reveals a difference in enrollment trends. The enrollment for college bound high school graduates seems to peak in 1987-1988 with a slow decline over the next three years. Then in 1991-1992 the enrollment trend begins a steady upward turn. (See following table.) In contrast, at Millersville University, the enrollment for the freshman class shows a peak in the fall of 1989. Then follows a decline in enrollments that bottoms out in 1993. The enrollment figures begin to rise in 1994 but soon show a decline again in 1995. The freshman enrollment appears to have peaked for Millersville in 1989 and has not yet returned to that level through 1995. Millersville University has somewhat lagged behind the national enrollment trends by about one year, and Millersville University has also seen the steady rebound in growth as displayed by the national figures. National College-Bound Students & Millersville University Freshman Enrollments

Academic Year	2- or 4-Year College-Bound Students	Fall of	Millersville University New Freshman Enrollments
1986-87	80,126	1987	1159
1987-88	85,031	1988	1164
1988-89	84,628	1989	1246
1989-90	80,994	1990	1089
1990-91	79,748	1991	1103
1991-92	80,771	1992	1017
1992-93	81,840	1993	961
1993-94	82,037	1994	1165
1994-95 (proj)	85,620	1995 (tentative)	1211

One conclusion from these data is that the General Education curriculum does not seem to have had an impact, positive or negative, on enrollment trends at Millersville University. This is not surprising; students rarely seek out an institution based on the character of its General Education curriculum. Instead, they choose based on offerings in particular departments or on the overall reputation of the institution.

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