Portland State University Research Update

Office of Institutional Research and Planning

PROFILE OF THE ENTERING CLASS OF 2001

(This annual edition shares a profile of the new students with the PSU community)

First-time Freshmen and Transfer Students

The entering class, consisting of 3,312 students, represented 24% of the undergraduate student body. Two types of students comprised the entering class of Fall 2001: first-time freshmen (39%) and transfers (61%). First time freshman enrollment increased 12% over last Fall while new transfers decreased 5%. As shown in Figure 1, first-time freshmen are students who come directly from high school (79%), transfer fewer than 30 college credits to PSU (17%), or obtain a GED (4%). These proportions were similar to those of last year.

Similar to last Fall, 74% of first-time freshmen this Fall came from the Oregon high school system. The rest were students from other states, foreign students, or students with GEDs, representing 26% of the first-time freshmen in Fall 2001 and 27% in Fall 2000. As shown in Figure 2, transfers are students who come to PSU with at least 30 hours of college credit. Most transfer 90 to 134 credit hours (42%) or 45 to 89 credit hours (37%). These proportions were similar to last Fall, although Fall 2001 students transferred more credits than Fall 2000 students. In Fall 2000, 46% of transfer students entered PSU with 90 to 134 hours of college credit and 34% entered PSU with 45 to 89 credit hours.

Of all first-time freshmen, 82% attended PSU on a full-time basis, which was similar to the proportion last Fall. Of all new transfer students, 69% attended PSU full-time, which was lower than the proportion last Fall. (See Figure 3.) The residency status of first-time freshmen and transfers indicated that a large majority, 81%, claimed Oregon residency. This proportion of residents decreased 4 percentage points from 2000 figures.

Age and Gender

The average age of first-time freshmen upon entering PSU was 19 years. As with previous entering classes, transfer students were older than first-time freshmen; their average age was 25. The proportion of men and women in the 2001 entering class was similar to previous years. Women represented 56% of all entering students. This follows a national trend; the average proportion of women to men in colleges and universities in the United States is 56% to 44%.

Ethnic Diversity

One fifth (20%) of the entering student class were members of ethnic minorities. (See Figure 4.) Another 3% were international students. The ethnicity of 10% of the entering class was unknown because these students declined to provide ethnic information. The largest minority group of entering students is Asian/Pacific Islander (10%). Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans and persons of multiple ethnic backgrounds together constituted 10% of the entering class at PSU.

The overall proportions of new students from ethnic minorities have remained stable over the past two years. Ethnic minorities represented 20% to 21% of all entering students in Fall 1999, 2000, and 2001. Figure 5 shows the representation of specific ethnic minorities as a percentage of all entering students.

Between Fall 1999 and 2000 entering ethnic minority students increased from 624 to 652, representing a 4% increase. Between Fall 2000 and 2001 entering ethnic minority students increased from 652 to 686, representing a 5% increase. The most notable increase was evident among Asian/Pacific Islander students; last Fall, 323 new Asian/Pacific Islander students enrolled compared to 345 this Fall, representing a 7% increase in this population.

Academic Background and Major: First-time Freshmen

For first-time freshmen, high school grade point average (GPA) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores are commonly used as indicators of academic preparedness. The mean high school GPA for 2001 first-time freshmen was 3.17 and the median was 3.20, indicating that, in general, these students entered with a B-average. These figures were slightly lower than the mean and median high school GPA for 2000 first-time freshman (3.18 & 3.13 respectively). The average composite SAT score for 2001 first-time freshman was 1013. This was similar to (albeit slightly lower than) the average SAT score of the 2000 first-time freshmen (1019).

Although many first-time freshmen (13%) were undecided about their major upon entering PSU and many change majors before graduating, those students who declared a major listed Business (10%) and Psychology most often (5%). This was similar to the national trend, which includes Business, Arts & Humanities, Professional degrees, Education Studies and Social Sciences among the top five most popular majors. (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Jan. 26, 2001).

Summary

New freshmen and transfer students exhibit many similarities but also differ in important ways that may have an impact on programs and services focused on new students. Note that the two largest categories of entering students were at different ends of the spectrum; the majority of first-time freshmen came directly from high school while most transfers entered PSU with 90-134 credit hours.

Lori Patterson, Graduate Assistant, and Juliette Stoering, Institutional Research Analyst, created this edition of the Portland State University Research Update.