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Partners Are Essential <- You Are Here
PARTNERS ARE ESSENTIAL (contd.)
ADVANCING QUALITY (contd)
Student Excellence. UM continues to attract bright, creative students who seek out the energy of our vibrant campus. Out of 4,000 students admitted in the fall, four of five had a grade point average greater than 3.5.The qualifications of our incoming students are comparable to those of our peers. You can see in Figure 1 that the differences between freshmen SAT scores and those of our peers is narrowing.
Diversity. Diversity is a priority on campus and our efforts are paying off with 44% of our entering freshman class identifying themselves as other than white. The proportions of African American and Hispanic American students on campus are at an all-time high. The number of African American students enrolled is greater than at any other AAU public university. UM is fourth among all public universities for the number of African Americans who earn PhD's.
Graduation rates continue to rise. (Figure 2). Our efforts to enhance student success are succeeding. While enrollment has remained relatively constant over the last 11 years (increasing only 6%), the number of bachelors' degrees granted has increased by 38%. That is an increase from 4,603 degrees in 1995 to 6,361 degrees in 2006. This is efficiency and effectiveness at its finest.
The six-year graduation rate has risen from 64% to 79%. Six-year graduation rates of first time minority freshmen are at an all time high as seen in Figure 3. The African American graduation rate is 69%, Hispanic American is 78% and Asian American is 80%. These are each historic highs.
President's Promise. Engaging
students is a key to retention and graduation. The President's Promise inaugural
class enrolled in the Fall of 2005. It commits to each incoming freshman class
the opportunity for every student to have a special experience described by
the President's Promise during his/her four years at the University. The excitement
of the Promise has stimulated many more University students to stretch beyond
their majors. In the 2003 graduating class, 74% of the 1999 freshmen had completed
a special program—an internship, research opportunity, study abroad, living—learning
community or some other. In the 2005 graduating class, 81% of the 2001 freshmen
had completed such a program. In the 2006 graduating class 82% had completed
such an experience.
International experience. Challenging courses alone are not
enough in this fast-paced, international world. In the 21st century a great university
must have an international focus and its students need the opportunity for an
international experience before they graduate. Students have access to more than
75 UM sponsored study abroad options. A spring 2006 survey of juniors and seniors
at UM showed that 85% had been abroad.4 One in five spent more than
a year outside the U.S.
International programs allow curricular focus on specific regions and topics. Distinguished speakers are regular visitors to campus. Director General of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Peace, delivered the Anwar
Sadat Lecture for Peace to a packed audience. Thomas Friedman, author of the First
Year Book The World Is Flat provided freshmen with an introduction to globalization. An ambassadorial lecture series brought ambassadors to campus from Norway, Austria and Spain.
Language and Culture. A Living Learning program allows undergraduates to immerse themselves in one of nine languages in St. Mary's Hall. The National
Foreign Language Center has received a one million dollar Startalk award from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for a nationwide program in student and teacher-training in Arabic and Chinese at the K-16 level. The Confucius Institute at Maryland (CIM), supporting the study of Chinese language and culture, celebrated its first anniversary in the Office of International Programs. The CIM is sponsored by the People's Republic of China and was the first of more than 100 Confucius Institutes worldwide. Ten exist in the U. S.
Federal Semester builds bridges between UM students and federal departments and agencies. The new program was launched this year with juniors and seniors from four colleges investigating major national policy issues through hands-on internships with policy experts. The focus this year is on policy influencing the health and well-being of society.
Freshmen Connection is a new program designed to fill Spring semester openings created by December graduation. The plan is to maximally use the campus facility while not increasing the maximum head count. This new, self-supported Freshmen Connection program, run through the Office of Extended Studies, enrolled
371 students in its Fall 2006 program. These students took special fall classes in the late afternoons and evenings when classroom spaces were available. This program will help these well-qualified spring-entering freshmen students stay on track to graduate in four years. This program and other admissions efforts led to 865 new freshmen admissions in Spring 2007 and helped us to meet our FY07 enrollment target.
Athletics is a great community builder, and we have much to celebrate over the past year, capturing four national championships. UM has the 10th most competitive athletics program in the country, based on the NCAA tournament successes of our fall sports teams. The 76% athlete graduation rate has risen 25% since 1998. For the second year in a row one half of student-athletes were on the honor roll. The UM athlete graduation rate is the highest among the eight ACC public institutions.
Staff Excellence. Great universities are built by exceptional
staff. The range of duties to which UM staff devotes itself is truly remarkable.
An example of outstanding support is Maryland Day, which drew a record 80,000
people for the University's 150th Anniversary. The "world's record largest Strawberry Shortcake" was
built, feeding 50,000-plus people, and 400 events showcased the breadth and
depth of activities at the University. This day embraced our many partners
including: the City of College Park, the National Archives, Beltsville Agricultural
Research Center, and more than 20 corporate sponsors. This annual open house
would not be possible without the dedication and deep commitment of our staff,
students and faculty.
Staff Awards. Several of our staff won national awards for their achievements. Grounds Maintenance was given a 2006
Honor Award in the Professional Grounds Management Society's
Green Star Awards competition. University Relations won 13
regional Council for Advancement and Support of Education awards (5 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze) in a variety of areas for its marketing and communications pieces, including publications, exhibits, and news writing.
4 From University of Maryland Student Survey, 2006 Report
(Campus Assessment Working Group).
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