Enrollment increases by 30

Northwestern College’s fall enrollment is 1,241, an increase of 30 students from last fall. The tally is the college’s second-highest enrollment in the last five years and the 10th highest overall.

Northwestern has enrolled a record number of transfer students, 52, this year. “We are committed to attracting more transfers, so we’re glad to see results from our hard work and openness toward that population,” says Kenton Pauls, dean of enrollment management. “The increase includes a significant number of students who have transferred from area community colleges.”

In addition, this year’s enrollment includes more students of color than ever before. Among the student body, nine percent are American ethnic minorities and another three percent are international students. In the freshman class, 12 percent are U.S. ethnic minorities and three percent are from another country.

“We are pleased that more students are choosing a Northwestern College education and that our student body is becoming more diverse, representative of the world around us,” says Pauls.

Northwestern’s freshmen have an average ACT score of 24.32, well above the Iowa average of 22.3 and the national average of 21.1. “We feel very good about the quality of our freshman class,” says Pauls. “We have every indication they’ll be successful here and contribute positively to the campus community.”

The retention rate of freshmen returning for their sophomore year was 77.2 percent, with 91.7 percent of second-year students returning for their third year.

Fifty-four percent of Northwestern’s students are from Iowa, followed by 11 percent from Minnesota, eight percent from South Dakota, seven percent from California and six percent from Nebraska.