Iowa State’s minority and international student populations are up slightly from last year, ISU officials announced Monday.

There are 1,703 minority students enrolled this fall, which makes up 6.8 percent of the student body. This is a 0.2 percent increase from 1995, when it was 1,639.

The international student population, which is 10.3 percent of the student body, is 2,566 this fall. This is a 0.1 percent increase from 1995, when it was 2,523.

Tom Thielen, vice president of student affairs, said he was pleased with the slight increases and would like to see it continue.

“It’s important for the student population to be ethnically diverse and geographically diverse for the entire university community,” he said.

The number of students in all ethnic minority groups — American Indian/Alaskan Natives, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Hispanics — showed an increase.

John Anderson, interim director of university relations said, “We’re especially pleased to see increases in all groups of under-represented students.”

Thielen said minority enrollment was down last year from 1994. He couldn’t explain the drop.

Anderson said the state Board of Regents wants universities to aim for an 8 percent minority enrollment.

“The university has a target,” he said. “It’s important to make progress toward that target. It’s also very important for the diversity of the university, which is a priority for the university.”

The minority rates for the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa will be reported at a regents meeting later this fall.

Anderson said the increase in minority enrollment can be attributed to recruitment efforts and better retention rates.

“Over the recent years, we’ve expanded our recruitment efforts and initiated a number of programs that include the minority liaison officers in each college,” he said.

About 115 countries are represented among ISU’s international student population.

Dennis Peterson, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars, said international students offer more than diversity to the student body.

“I think [the increase] is important because Iowa State needs international students, not just for diversity reasons, but because they are good students,” he said.

They also pay more. “As non-residents, they’re making it possible for Iowans to pay lower in-state tuition rates,” Peterson said.

The largest number of international students at Iowa State was about 2,600, which was in 1993. Peterson said ISU’s numbers this year are the second highest ever, but they could be better, he said.

“Given the fact that there are lots of other countries recruiting international students, Iowa State has to do better,” Peterson said. “More countries today are spending more on recruitment.

“They have the same retention rate as American students, so we see them as good students and we would like to have more.”

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Minority Enrollment

Groups 1995 1996

Am. Indian/Alaskan Native 57 64

African American 665 684

Asian/Pacific Islander 526 553

Hispanic 391 402

ISU Enrollment 24,673 24,899

Minority Total* 1,639 1,703

International Total** 2,523 2,566

*includes only U.S. citizens, permanent residents and refugees

**includes all international— non-resident alien—students regardless of ethnic group affiliation