6 percent gain follows previous year’s 10 percent jump

Dana College announced today that it’s official 2005-06 full-time enrollment is 653 students, a gain of 6 percent over its 2004-05 numbers. The gain follows a record-breaking year for Dana, which saw its 2004-05 enrollment jump 10 percent — from 563 in 2003-04 to 617 — last year. This higher enrollment trend means the liberal arts college will have its largest enrollment since 1971, the height of the Vietnam War.

At that time, larger enrollments were due to both a spike in the number of college-age students — with the Baby Boom generation — and the imposition of the military draft, which could be avoided by entering college. Dana’s recent spike comes at a time when college-age students are actually declining in Nebraska and more educational and vocational opportunities exist.

For Dana, the successes have brought about the need to grow the physical plant. In response, the college also announced Tuesday that it will build a $2.5 million residence hall to help accommodate enrollment gains.

Dean of Enrollment Jim Lynes said that Dana’s recent surge in enrollment is due to many factors, including:

• Focusing on local recruiting of students who want to attend a school where they can be both academically challenged and participate in many extracurricular activities. (Thirty-four percent of this year’s incoming freshmen class hail from Omaha. Ninety-eight percent of Dana students participate in an extracurricular activity associated with athletics, fine arts or academics.)
• A new marketing approach that informs prospective students about Dana College’s personality and strengths.
• The addition of unique, career-orientated majors, such as Criminal Justice and iMedia.
• Changes to the admissions process that make applying easier, but focus on higher-achieving students.

In a time of declining enrollment numbers for Nebraska’s public universities, Lynes said he thinks Dana’s success shows that Nebraskans are starting to realize that Nebraska’s private colleges offer superior education at a great value. Dana students enjoy a low student-to-teacher ratio, phenomenal job placement rates after graduation and increased extracurricular opportunities for students. And while Dana’s “sticker price” seems much higher than public school tuition, by the time financial aid and the increased chances of graduating in four years are factored in, the overall cost of attending Dana is comparable to a public four-year university.

“They are considering things like class size, majors offered and the overall experience they expect to get in college,” Lynes said. “For many, we win in these categories. Nebraskans also seem to be worried about news of budget cuts at state institutions and how that may impact the education and services students will receive in the future.”
Officials at Dana are thrilled with the rise in enrollment and hope for continued growth in future years. Lynes said the college hopes to grow to around 750 for full-time enrollment. To achieve this, the Admissions Office is continuing to innovate. The 2006-07 class will be the first to be offered specially tailored academic scholarships, that will reward students in history, English and other subjects, much like the scholarships Dana’s talented student athletes and fine arts students receive.

Recruitment for the 2006-07 class is already underway, and Lynes said he hopes it will top even this year’s record-breaking pace.

Dana College is a place where all students actively participate. They make things happen — in their own lives and in the lives of others. Through a highly supportive faculty and campus community, Dana students develop interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and other important values and knowledge as they make choices about their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business, education and social work, among others, ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging careers or placement in graduate school.

Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair, Neb. To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.

Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge, Build a future — We’re with you all the way.

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For more information contact:

Sarah Cavanah
Communications Coordinator
Dana College
(402) 426-7216
scavanah@dana.edu