University welcomes largest, most diverse freshman class

This article is the first in a series about the class of 2013 at the University of Richmond.

This year's freshman class, the class of 2013, has 182 more members than last year's freshman class at a comparable date and is the largest this university has ever seen.

The first-year class - 926 strong as of Aug. 1, 2009 - resulted from a pool of 7,880 applications, nearly identical to the number of applications received in 2008, said Nanci Tessier, vice president for enrollment management. When planning this year's class size, university officials targeted a first-year class of 805 students - a projection that required 3,094 students to be admitted to the university and 850 to 870 students to send deposits before May 1, 2009.

Every college and university must accept more deposits than its targeted first-year class size because some students will withdraw their deposits and choose to attend other schools during the spring and summer, Tessier said. This decrease in enrollment is known as "summer melt."

University officials anticipated a 7 percent summer melt this year. Instead, the university received deposits from 976 students, which exceeded the "pre-melt" target by about 100, Tessier said. Then, the summer melt totaled 5.8 percent, which was unchanged from 2008. Together, the two factors produced a class size of 926 students, not 805, she said.

University officials increased their enrollment projections this year because they had hoped to compen sate for the expected drop in enrollment following the economic recession of last year. In short, officials were worried that families would send their children to cheaper, public institutions in lieu of more expensive, private options, such as Richmond, Tessier said.

In response, university officials worked to make sure that families knew Richmond could sustain its generous financial aid, despite the economic downturn. As a result, more students might have chosen Richmond instead of other schools, she said.

"It was a strong statement from families that an education at the University of Richmond has value," she said. Tessier also said many other colleges and universities had to turn to their wait lists to satisfy their desired quotas.

The large class size can be attributed to a sharp increase in yield, which is the percentage of students that accepted admission to Richmond, Tessier said.

The first-year class is also notable for its diversity: It is composed of students representing 40 states and 27 countries. Students of color make up 23 percent of the class (up from 13 percent last year), while first-generation college students make up 21 percent of the class (up from 15 percent last year).

Members of the class of 2013 also posses a myriad of backgrounds: some worked with presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, some founded nonprofit organizations and some authored children's books, according to university communications.

Steve Bisese, vice president for student development, said that the large first-year class had brought with it a sense of excitement to Richmond - members of the class have participated in organized events and clubs and signed up in high numbers for programs that began before first-year orientation started, such as the Roadmap to Success Program and the Outdoor Challenge.

Bisese credited university officials with being prepared to handle the challenges that a large class presented. Richmond officials have dealt with larger-than-expected classes before, so all parties knew how to respond this year and did so as a team, he said.

Several years ago, students were housed in dormitory lounges, Bisese said. Unlike past years in which there were large first-year classes, the university was fortunate this year to have Lakeview Hall, which has helped provide the space needed to house additional students, he said.

In part to account for the first-year class, Bisese said that in addition to students continuing to receive attention from the deans' offices, Counseling and Psychological Services and the health center, all students would now have access to on-campus psychiatric services for the first time. More tutors and Resident Assistants were hired, he said, in order to ensure that structures remain in place that will guarantee students continue to receive the personal attention that comes with a Richmond education.

Contact staff writer Jimmy Young at jimmy.young@richmond.edu