"We're pleased to have the new enrollment cap. It's going to be positive for the University and the students," Dean Bunker said. "Right now, though we're still in the adding and dropping phase until the end of the week, the majority of registration is done. We anticipate we'll end up with around 2,400 students enrolled."
Bunker explained that the difference between the total and the limit is due to the number of non-degree-seeking students (for example, those taking continuing education classes), who are traditionally not counted against the limit; and "for a variety of reasons, a number of students will discontinue every semester."
Bunker, who came to BYU-Hawaii a year-and-a-half ago from a similar position at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, said he is also pleased with a new enrollment dynamic that started fall semester: "We've seen a large increase in our continuing students, which is an indication that we're retaining more of them."
"For example, we have more than 150 students continuing over from fall to winter than we did last year. That's significant, because the impact of 150 more continuing students means we can be more purposeful in our recruiting efforts," he said.
Bunker said those efforts focus on new objectives, which admissions has been working on for the past year, that emphasize David O. McKay's vision that the university will train leaders for Asia. "We'll reduce the number of mainland students and significantly increase the number from Asia," Bunker said.
President Eric B. Shumway pointed out when BYU-Hawaii reaches its enrollment objectives, "approximately 60% of the student body will be international, and 40% will be from the U.S. I'm grateful that President McKay laid it out for us in the beginning."
More specifically, Bunker explained that long-term enrollment objectives for Asia are broken into two geographical components: Admissions from the developed nations of Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan will increase from the current 12% level to 20%; while new students from other Asian countries will increase from the current level of 9% to 15%.
The number of mainland students will eventually drop from its current level of approximately 40% to 25%. "This transition will take place over the next three-to-four years," Bunker added, pointing out the changes will be done with sensitivity.
"We have a plan that will really get going beginning fall semester 2003," he said.
"Our focus will be to reduce the number of new freshmen, who have the highest attrition rate; and continue to focus on mainland transfer students, who are most likely to remain here to graduate. They're also much more likely to have experience on missions. They're more mature, and more apt to have some sense of the mission of the University, in terms of its international objectives."
Bunker said the numbers of students from Hawaii and the Pacific will remain at their current levels of 20% and 15%, respectively; while the remaining 5% will continue to be from other countries.
Bunker said, "This semester we have 70 different countries represented on campus, ranging from American Samoa to Zimbabwe. We have one from Burundi; one each from Ecuador, Ethiopia and Madagascar; two from Liberia, two from the Czech Republic, and one from Romania. We also have a total of seven from Russia, with an increase of students from Far East Russia."
"Outside the United States, Japan continues to lead with 119 students, closely followed by South Korea at 96," Bunker said. "We also have 49 Mongolians, and of those, 15 are new. That's made possible because of IWES [International Work Experience Scholarship] and the generosity of friends of the university."
Bunker added another factoid from winter '03 registration: The ratio of male-to-female students this semester "is almost even" at 1 male per 1.2 females enrolled.
The other BYU-Hawaii recruiting team members include associate dean Arapata Meha, who focuses on the Pacific Islands, including Australia and New Zealand; Mike Sudlow, director of international recruitment, who works mainly with students in the developed nations of Asia; and Asai Gilman, director of Hawaii, mainland and international recruitment in the Pacific Islands where English is widely spoken.