I recently received news from Iowa State University, my alma mater, that the engineering department has surpassed 5,000 undergraduate students this year. It’s good to hear that enrollment is increasing despite economic pressures making it harder for families to afford sending kids to college.
But the statistics from ISU still show a disturbing dark side. Of 5,086 undergraduates, only 755 are female (15%). I can tell you from my experience as a male engineering student, it would be much easier to get excited about going to thermodynamics class if more than only 1 out of 5 in the class were female…
With 5,086 undergraduates majoring in engineering this fall, the Iowa State University College of Engineering has achieved a 25-year high in enrollment. The increase is 410 more students than last fall.
The college, which is routinely among the top 10 in the nation for undergraduate enrollment, has averaged more than 4,600 students per year since 1998. Enrollment has exceeded 5,000 students just three other years—1982–1984.
The biggest increases for 2009 are for resident freshmen (45) and resident transfers (39) followed by foreign transfers (36) and nonresident freshmen (29). The enrollment figures also show positive trends in gender and ethnic diversity. The number of females is 755, up from 681 in 2008. The number of underrepresented students is up 79 from last year and represents 8.6% of the engineering student body.
via ISU College of Engineering News – Engineering enrollment exceeds 5,000.
