Dear Friends,
With the wonderful fall weather, the semester continues full bore. Here are a few items of interest:
Fall Enrollment Report
The School of Mines announced its Fall 2007 enrollment numbers last week, welcoming a well-prepared, academically strong and diverse group of students to campus. Total enrollment is 2,070 students which is a slight decrease in head count of 54 students, or 2.54 percent, from Fall 2006. This enrollment translates into similar FTE and credit hour generation from last year. Clearly, better prepared students are able to take additional course work.
More importantly for the future, the enrollment data confirms the expected impact of the new admission standards—enrollment of a larger freshman class, up 68 students, while increasing quality and diversity. - The 2007 freshman class credentials reflect continued increases across all academic preparation indicators, ACT Composite and Math scores, high school grade point averages, and rank in class.
- The 2007 freshman class has a greater percentage of geographic diversity. Freshmen are from 40 South Dakota counties, 23 states and five countries.
- One in every two incoming freshmen from South Dakota are designated as South Dakota Opportunity Scholars, a statement to their academic preparedness.
- The 2007 freshman average course load as measured by credit hours has increased.
- The retention rate of the 2007 class is more than 76 percent, a significant increase over previous years.
Meeting of the Mines Weekend
Friday, Oct. 12 and Saturday, Oct. 13, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is opening its doors to the community and everyone is invited. There is something planned for everyone during the Meeting of the Mines, which includes Family Weekend, Visit Mines, and CommUniversity. For more detailed information on these and other weekend events, visit: http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/motm/schedule.
CAMP 10th Anniversary Celebration
Please join us for the CAMP (Center of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing and Production) 10 Year Anniversary Banquet on Friday, October 26th at the Rushmore Plaza Holiday Inn, beginning with a reception at 6:30 pm and dinner at 7:00 pm. The cost is $50 per person ($16 tax deductible). The program will include keynote speaker Tana L. Utley, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of the Technology & Solutions Division at Caterpillar, Inc. You may RSVP online or by calling (605) 394-2554 by October 15th. For further details and information, visit: http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/camp.
On a personal note, last week I announced my plans to retire from the presidency June 30, 2008. These five years have gone much too fast due, in no small part, to your support and encouragement. Please be assured these last nine months will be as busy and productive as possible.
As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments. I can be reached at charles.ruch@sdsmt.edu.
Charles Ruch |