A record 6,500 new BYU-Idaho students knew how to find their classes on the first day of school Monday because school employees offered individual walk-your-schedule tours last week.
BYU-Idaho’s incoming class set two school records:
- This is the second straight year the school has shattered its mark for most new students, including college transfers, up 18% over last fall’s record of 5,500 new incoming students.
- The freshman class of 5,500 breaks the previous high of 4,900 freshmen in fall 2020. That’s an increase of nearly 11%.
The boom pushes BYU-Idaho’s total enrollment this semester to 25,000 students — on campus and in concurrent enrollment courses — as it celebrates its 25th anniversary of university status.
There are a number of reasons for the upswing. University officials credit a growing desire among students for faith-enriched education and the university’s effort to improve its communication with students from before they arrive in Rexburg through a fun-filled weekend of new student orientation.
“It is exciting to see our second year in a row of having the largest incoming class at BYU-Idaho ever,” said Stephanie Colvin, director of First-Year Experience.
“It’s a milestone that reflects a growing demand for education where academic excellence is tied to a spiritual purpose. The mission of BYU-Idaho and what we’re trying to accomplish here is a huge draw for parents and families and students.”
BYU-Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III, a General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has led an effort to strengthen the university’s messaging about its mission to provide quality education and increase faith. The school has launched ad campaigns and sent University Relations officials around the United States to events for prospective students and their parents.
“BYU-Idaho’s mission is to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the church and their communities,” President Meredith said in a news release issued Monday. “Students are drawn to the university because they find an education here that is both spiritually strengthening and academically rigorous.”
BYU-Idaho has spent the past 20 years expanding and modernizing its campus and innovating in online learning and scheduling.
The university offers a unique three-track system, operating year-round with three 14-week semesters — fall, winter and spring. Each student is assigned to a two-semester track — fall and winter, winter and spring, or spring and fall.
In 2022, the school launched its office of First-Year Experience, which has been dialing up communication with prospective and freshman students.
The walk-your-schedule tours are one example.
“When students come to campus, one of their biggest points of anxiety is just navigating the campus,” said Colvin, the First-Year Experience director. “They’re in a new place. There are lots of buildings. Classes are spread across campus. Wayfinding became a theme as we looked at the research and as we asked students what was important to them in an orientation experience.”
The university asked full-time, part-time and student employees to volunteer to lead a student or two at a time on the walk-your-schedule tours.
“We’re going to walk this with you,” Colvin said. “We’re going to show you how to find your way on the interactive map and help you feel prepared for the first day so you don’t feel lost.”
On Friday, the campus was a sea of blue as employees in new T-shirts sporting the limited edition BYU-I 25th-anniversary logo walked across campus with new students and their families.
“It is the whole campus embracing this moment to welcome these students and helping them feel like BYU-Idaho is a place where they belong and want to be,” Colvin said.
The university wants to provide that sense of belonging the moment prospective students indicate they plan to enroll. It sends welcome letters, information and a welcome package.
“We have a student team that reaches out and helps them onboard and orient to the university,” Colvin said. “We offer offer pre-campus orientation. We support parents and families as well and help with their questions. We also help with new student orientation when students actually come to kick off their college experience.”
That includes arranging for BYU-I student to serve as a peer mentor to each student that plans to enroll.
BYU-Idaho also offers a required freshman student success 101 course, like the other schools in the Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The goal isn’t just to get students to Rexburg and set new-student records, officials said. It’s to retain them after they arrive and help them through graduation.
“Research across decades in higher education really shows the importance of the first year in the persistence and retention of students at any university,” Colvin said. “Students who are able to succeed in their first year are more likely to be retained, more likely to graduate.”
Schools across American higher education are focused intensely on helping students transition from high school to college and integrate with their new community.
BYU-Idaho is seeing success, Colvin said.
“We’re seeing an increase in retention generally, and we’re seeing improved retention in the first year from first semester to second semester and also first year to second year. We believe the focus and the programming is helping students and making a difference,” she said.
Higher education enrollment numbers are a mixed bag recently but rose 3.2% in the spring. Some other schools are seeing record enrollments. The University of Idaho projected a 3% increase this fall, according to Inside Higher Ed.
However, the industry stands on the precipice of a demographic cliff. Researchers say that based on birthrates, schools can expect enrollment to decline annually beginning next year through at least 2041, according to New York magazine.
The number of high school graduates will recede during that time from 3.9 million this year to 3.4 million, a drop of 13%.
Colvin hopes BYU-Idaho will be prepared to withstand that trend as it connects a purpose-driven generation to the university’s mission to help students grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
BYU-Idaho students are required to take 14 credit hours or religion courses to graduate. (The number is fewer for transfer students.)
“That framework develops a deep sense of belonging and purpose,” she said. “As we look at the students who are here now, the students who are coming and the students who are coming in a few years, many of them are driven by purpose. They’re driven by finding a community, being able to latch on to something meaningful, and the mission of the university gives us that common starting place.”
Colvin said she believes the teachings of President Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ, have helped the young adults at BYU-Idaho build a greater sense of belonging.
“Regardless of background, where you’re from in the world, we have a common identity that’s taught by President Nelson, that we’re all children of God, we’re children of the covenant, we’re disciples of Jesus Christ, and that gives us that common starting point to build a sense of belonging, community confidence, and ultimately reach the mission of the university,” she said.
BYU-Idaho chief of staff and planning vice president Rob Garrett said the administration is thrilled to see so many students choosing the university.
“Their decision to come here demonstrates confidence in the kind of learning environment and community they will find,” he said. “They know we are committed to supporting their academic, spiritual and personal growth as they prepare for meaningful jobs.”
