Record-Shattering Enrollment at UNH:
100-Percent Increase in Incoming Class is Extremely Rare

West
Haven, Conn. – The word is out: The University of New Haven (UNH) is
being transformed with new programs and facilities, bringing the
University’s enrollment to a record-shattering high. Increasing an
incoming class 100 percent in one year is extremely rare, but UNH has
experienced an “off-the-charts” spike in enrollment for fall 2008. By
the crucial national “deadline” of May 1, deposits were up 104 percent
over last year, following a dizzying number of applications.

“When
a University’s enrollment spikes 10 to 20 percent within a year, its
competitors take note,” says UNH Vice President of Enrollment
Management Dennis Nostrand. “What UNH has experienced is noteworthy and
speaks to the transformation that has occurred at the University the
past few years.” He adds that “It’s extremely rare to have an increase
of this kind in just one year, especially when the high school
population has leveled off in the Northeast and has begun to decline in
Connecticut.”

The enrollment increase is the result of a
confluence of several unique factors, Nostrand says. Foremost in the
University’s efforts is spreading the word about its new facilities-the
$15.5 million David A. Beckerman Recreation Center and a new, $46
million 400-bed, apartment-style, residence hall slated for ground
breaking in June. “Add the recent announcement that football will
return to UNH as part of the Northeast-10 Athletic Conference in the
fall of 2009, and the University’s position as one of the largest
study-abroad providers in the nation, and you start to see the formula
that we’ve developed in the last few years-and that’s just the
beginning.”

Other recent improvements include two new
$1-million turf fields, a trading room floor, known as the Samuel S.
Bergami, Jr., Learning Center for Finance and Technology, and a
University College with myriad programs life-long learning and
customized corporate training to area and regional businesses, among
others.

A leader in experiential education, the University of New
Haven provides its students with a unique combination of solid liberal
arts and real-world, hands-on professional training. A private
University founded in 1920, UNH has a full-time undergraduate
enrollment of more than 2,400 students-with 70 percent residing on its
80-acre main campus-and a graduate school enrollment that exceeds
1,700.  The University offers more than 80 undergraduate degrees and
more than 25 graduate degrees through its four colleges, in fields such
as sports management, nutrition, forensic science, music and sound
recording, engineering, computer science and criminal justice.
University College at UNH develops programs and courses to meet the
emerging educational and training needs of educators, businesses and
public and social agencies, focusing on academic excellence,
convenience and flexibility. University of New Haven students study
abroad through a variety of distinctive programs.