Although summer registration represents a relatively small proportion of the enrollment activity over any given year at DePaul, it still has significant financial implications for the institution. That makes this year’s summer enrollment outcomes notable as the university generated $33.2 million in gross tuition revenue, exceeding the budgeted goal by $2.4 million.
The university budgeted conservatively for summer 2017; the overall enrollment goal of 7,380 students was 131 fewer students than last year’s goal and 47 students fewer than last year’s actual enrollment. While the final headcount of 7,276 students was about 1 percent less than the budgeted projection, the 47,014 credit hours taken exceeded expectations by nearly 4 percent.
The credit hour mix was of particular interest because it resulted in a DePaul first for any quarter: Revenue from graduate enrollment exceeded revenue from undergraduate enrollment ($16.1 million and $15.9 million, respectively; law accounts for another $1.2 million).
“Summer graduate hours increased over last year, and that is primarily driven by two colleges,” explains Julie Artis, faculty director of Course Scheduling Analytics in Enrollment Management and Marketing (EMM). “The College of Science and Health’s graduate home college credit hours increased by nearly two-thirds, and much of that is attributable to the Master’s Entry to Nursing Practice program. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business exceeded last summer by nearly 900 hours, much of that coming from management and accounting courses.”
Students also seem to value convenience even more in the summer, Artis says. “Summer online courses continue to gain popularity. They increased nearly 4 percent over 2016 and constitute 40 percent of all credit hours. During the traditional academic year, online hours usually make up between 10 to 15 percent of credits taken.”
Below are a few additional details of interest, based on the August 19 enrollment census:
- Ninety-six percent of students were continuing DePaul students; there is a limited amount of visiting or non-degree seeking students contributing to summer enrollment.
- Sixty percent of the undergraduates enrolling had senior standing. Another 20 percent had junior standing.
- Students tended to take more than one class in the summer. Undergraduate students averaged 7.3 credit hours; grads averaged 6.1 hours.