Iowa State is expected to reach record-breaking enrollment numbers in 2003.

The layout for the overall enrollment process charts the expected values for the next 10 years, said David Bousquet, assistant vice president for enrollment.

“The increase is expected to take place over the next four to five years,” he said.

The projections are strong because the goals are set in relation to the number of new students enrolled, said Registrar Kathy Jones.

ISU’s enrollment this fall was 26,110 students and is expected to peak in 2003 at more than 27,200 students, Jones said.

This figure will beat the enrollment record of 26,529 students set in 1985.

The enrollment increase has three causes: an improved retention rate, an increase in recruitment practices and a national increase in high school graduates continuing education, Bousquet said.

He said the improved retention rate definitely has played an important role in the predicted increase.

“The university has a goal set for a 90 percent retention rate,” he said.

ISU currently has a retention rate of 84 percent.

“If you were able to achieve and maintain the retention rate, you would see real growth,” Bousquet said.

ISU has taken measures to try to improve the number of returning students, he said, such as the creation of “learning teams,” or placing groups of freshmen in the same majors in the same classes. “We have well over 30 in existence,” he said.

The university also has started recruiting more aggressively, Bousquet said, trying to target more international students while increasing the overall number of students visiting the campus.

“Last year, over 14,000 people visited campus,” he said.

People experience more attention and consideration when they visit, Bousquet said.

“They don’t expect the personal attention,” he said. A lot of families receive personal tours, which surprises them, he said.

Another effort added in August also should help improve the retention rate, Bousquet said.

The university initiated New Student Days, a three-day event designed to familiarize students with ISU.

“The purpose was to help to connect students to the institution and to provide a relaxed environment for them to make friends with students who were in a similar situation,” he said.

Bousquet said the university’s recruitment and retention strategies seem to be promising.

“The changes we will have to make will be minimal,” he said. “We would have to focus on increasing and improving.”