Spring 2003 Enrollment Analysis Miramar College Summary
Headcount and FTES
A total of 9,901 students were enrolled at Miramar College in spring 2003. In comparison with spring 2002 (as of census), student enrollment increased by 1,843 students or 22.9%. Total FTES also increased by 15% over the previous year (2622.20 in spring 2003 vs. 2,281.07 in spring 2002).
Demographics
Analysis of the total student population in spring 2003 showed that 68.6% were continuing students, 5.3% were first-time freshmen, 11.5% were first-time transfers, 11.5% were returning students (left the district for more than one year and returned in spring 2003), and 2.7% were current high school students. Continuing students constituted a slightly higher percent (68.6%) of the total student population in spring 2003 than spring 2002 (64.5%). The enrollment of first-time freshmen decreased by 4.6% over spring 2002. Demographic distributions of other variables were similar to spring 2002, exceptions included higher proportions of students between ages 40-49, males, and students with an AA degree.
New Student Enrollment by Service Area
New student enrollment by service area was analyzed and results showed that enrollment of first-time freshmen remained the same for the college’s service area; however, there was an enrollment decrease from Mesa College service area as well as non-district service areas. Additionally, enrollment of first-time transfers increased from non-district service areas and areas serving City and Mesa.
Residency
In terms of residency status, nearly 97% of all students were California residents. Out-of-state non-residents accounted for 2.7% and international students 0.5% of the total student population. Enrollment of international students remained unchanged between these two spring semesters. Nearly 85% of the international students were continuing students.
Enrollment by Subject Area
Student enrollment change by subject area was also examined. Only subject areas with 100 or more students in spring 2003 were included in this analysis. The top five subject areas with the largest enrollment increases from spring 2002 to spring 2003 were: (1) Fire Protection Technology, 69.8%; (2) Physics, 64.9%; (3) Geography, 61.4%; (4) Personal Growth, 47.1%; and (5) Political Science; 41.8%. The top five subject areas with the enrollment decreases were: (1) Aviation Maintenance Technology, -16.4%; (2) Economics, -7.1%; (3) Aviation, -4.6%; (4) Computer and Information Science, -3.5%; and (5) Business, -0.9%.
Persistence of First-Time Freshmen
Of the first-time freshmen who were enrolled at the college in spring 2002 as of census (N=545), 31.3% persisted to spring 2003. This rate is slightly lower than the one-year persistence rate of first-time freshmen in spring 2001 (32.9% persisted from spring 2001 to spring 2002). The one-year persistence rate was also broken down by educational objective, gender, and ethnicity. Results showed that students who intended to transfer persisted at a higher rate (transfer with an AA, 45.5%; transfer without an AA, 41.2%) than other groups. In addition, female freshmen had a much higher persistence rate (39.7%) than males (26.4%). Asian freshmen persisted at a higher rate (54.8%) than other ethnic groups.
In terms of fall-to-spring (one-semester) persistence rate, of the first-time freshmen who were enrolled at Miramar College in fall 2002 as of census (N=961), 60% persisted to this spring, indicating a slightly higher persistence rate than the comparable rate of last year (58.5% persisted from fall 2001 to spring 2002). Additionally, females had a much higher one-semester persistence rate (68.2%) than males (55.1%). Filipino and Asian freshmen had a higher persistence rate than other ethnic groups. No significant patterns were found in terms of fall-to-spring persistence by educational objective.
In summary, analysis of census enrollment at Miramar College indicated a 22.9% enrollment increase and a 15% FTES increase in spring 2003 as compared to spring 2002; however, the enrollment of first-time freshman decreased by 1.5%. The spring-to-spring and fall-to-spring persistence rates of the first-time freshmen were compared with data from the previous year. Results showed slightly lower persistence rates than the previous year. Female freshmen had a higher persistence rate than males. Filipino and Asian freshmen also persisted at a higher rate than other groups.