MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State University's enrollment has increased for the third straight year due to higher numbers of new freshmen, graduate students and transfers from other colleges.

Continued improvement in retaining students also contributed to the increases, said Douglas McConkey, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management.

"We are extremely pleased that Ball State is attracting outstanding students to the campus," he said. "Our goal is to continue to increase enrollment by offering students outstanding educational programs and a wonderful campus experience."

Ball State has 17,662 students enrolled this fall, a jump of 172 over last year. The freshman class has increased by 46 students to 3,533.

There are also 693 new graduate students, up by 53 over last year.

The number of students transferring from other colleges and universities is 783, 69 more than last year. Of the transfers, about 110 students enrolled this fall after successfully completing the Connect Program at an area campus of Ivy Tech State College. The program enables students initially denied by Ball State to attend any Ivy Tech campus, take 24 credits with a minimum of 2.0 GPA in all classes, resulting in automatic acceptance to Ball State.

"We are also pleased academic achievement scores for our incoming freshman class has increased each of the last four years," McConkey said. "The average SAT score for freshmen is 1040, up six points over last year. It has improved each year since 1998 when we raised our admission standards."

Included in the freshman class are 22 National Merit Scholars, three Hispanic Scholars and two National Achievement Scholars.

McConkey said efforts to encourage freshmen to return for their sophomore year has paid off with retention rates improving from 76 to 77 percent over last school year.

Residence halls are at full capacity due to the Premium Plan, which allows students to lock in room and board rates for two years. Several study lounges were converted into living quarters to make room for a larger on-campus population. These rooms had at one time been living quarters before being remodeled.

By Marc Ransford, Communications Manager

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact McConkey at dmcconkey@bsu.edu or (765) 285-1444.)