“UND is in great shape.”
That’s how UND president Andy Armacost wrapped up his “State of the University” address today (Thu).
In highlighting enrollment numbers, Armacost said the University had 13,876 students last fall.
“The increases were about one percent annually in each of the last two years, which bucks the national trend,” Armacost said. “The national trend was a 7.4 percent decrease over that same time period.”
Looking at this fall, Armacost said estimated enrollment is up nearly two percent with new freshmen up four percent and a 5.4 percent gain in graduate students. He said transfer students will be up nearly 20 percent, with a 21 percent increase in international students.
Armacost said UND is showing “extraordinary growth” in retaining students.
“The retention of our students from last fall to this fall was at 83 percent – that’s a decade-long high. And then from last fall to last spring, we retained at the rate of 94 percent.”
Armacost told an audience of UND faculty, administrators and staff that the growth is due to their “making a difference in students’ lives.”
Armacost said UND has an adjusted revenue budget of $648 million dollars in fiscal year 2024. And he said research spending has been on an upward climb.
“Our research portfolio, in terms of research expenditures in the last year, was $147 million. This is up from $110 million two years earlier. It’s a significant growth,” Armacost said.
He added: “Our grants and awards have increased over that same period even more. Our research grants have grown by 50 percent over a two-year period.”
Armacost also announced that UND has made “subtle adjustments” to its secondary athletic logos.
The Fighting Hawk “head,” which has been seen over the letters “N-D,” will sometimes be seen on its own. And the “N-D” logo will sometimes have the letter “U” in front of it. Armacost said the tweaks will be seen on new merchandise.
The fall semester begins on Monday (Aug. 21).