You asked about UConn's policy concerning admission of in-state versus out-of-state undergraduate applicants, recent trends in such admissions, and comparisons of these trends with comparable universities in other states.

We are awaiting further information from UConn and will forward it to you upon receipt.

SUMMARY

UConn considers applicants' state residency when it reviews applications, but it places most importance on an applicant's secondary school record, class rank, academic performance, standardized test scores, and talent and ability. State residency is treated on the same level as alumni relationships and work experience. This relative ranking has not changed in the past five years.

One of the indicators of UConn's performance is a measure calling for Connecticut residents to comprise 70% to 75% of all its incoming freshman. It has attained this goal each year since 2002, and has, in fact, exceeded it since 2003. Most out-of-state freshman attend the Storrs campus. Their enrollment there has fluctuated between 2002 and 2005 both in total numbers and as a percentage of all freshmen. Out-of-state freshman enrollment peaked in 2002 at 1,045 or 33% of all freshmen; 2005 marked its low point at 914 (28% of all freshmen).

UConn received 18,363 applications for admission in 2005, a 35% increase over 2002. Most of that increase came from out-of-state applicants, which rose from 6,057 in 2002 to 10,015 in 2005, a 65% increase compared to just 11% for in-state applicants. (Out-of-state students now comprise nearly 55% of all undergraduate applications. ) The acceptance rate for out-of-state applicants dropped significantly during those years, from 62% in 2002 to 43% in 2005, as did the total number of out-of-state students matriculating at Storrs, from 1,012 in 2002 to 898 in 2005.

UConn and the Department of Higher Education (DHE) have identified eight universities as UConn's peers for evaluating the university's performance in meeting state higher education goals. We sought to compare UConn's nonresident admission and enrollment trends to those peers. Five of the eight, like UConn consider state residency in their admission decisions; three do not. Freshmen enrollment data we obtained from five of the schools show two enroll a similar percentage of nonresident freshmen, two fewer, and one greater. The one school for which we obtained application and admissions data admits a much higher percentage of nonresidents than UConn but enrolls a similar percentage of those admitted.

UCONN FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT, APPLICATIONS, AND ADMISSIONS

Admissions Policy

UConn does not have a formal policy on admission of out-of-state students, but it does consider an applicant's state of residence in its decisions. State residency is a third tier factor. It ranks behind rigor of secondary school record, class rank, academic average, standardized test scores, talent and ability (the most important factors) and recommendations, essays, extracurricular activities, character, first generation in college, race and ethnicity, and volunteer work (the next most important factors). State residency is equal in importance to alumni connections, work experience, and the applicant's level of interest in UConn.

UConn and other universities annually include these rankings in a report to the U. S. Department of Education called the Common Data Set. UConn's rankings have not changed in the past four years.

Applications

The number of out-of-state students who apply to UConn has increased substantially (65%) between 2002 and 2005; they now outnumber applicants from Connecticut. But the percentage of nonresidents who are admitted and who matriculate dropped significantly during that period (from 62% and 27%, respectively, to 43% and 21%). Table 1 shows the trends in applications, admissions, and matriculations to the Storrs campus by residency status.

Table 1: Applications, Admissions, Matriculations, by Residency, 2002-2005

Source: Department of Higher Education

Enrollment

UConn's goal is to have Connecticut residents comprise 70% to 75% of incoming freshmen at its Storrs and regional campuses, according to the Board of Higher Education's 2006 annual report, Higher Education Counts. That report indicates that UConn actually exceeded that goal each year from 2003 to 2005. Since most out-of-state freshmen attend the Storrs campus, they typically constitute a higher percentage of that campus's freshmen class. The percentage and the number of nonresident students at Storrs have fluctuated over the past four years. Table 2 shows these enrollment trends.

Table 2: Freshmen Enrollment Trends by State Residency, All UConn Campuses

Sources: BGHE, Higher Education Counts (p. 47) for all campuses, UConn Factbook, 05-06, for Storrs data

(Discrepancies in Tables 1 and 2 between data reported by the DHE and UConn may be due to several factors, principally the timing of the data collection and definitional differences between "first-time student" and "first-year student. ”)

OTHER STATES

Admission and Enrollment

UConn and DHE have identified eight universities as UConn's peers for evaluating the university's performance in meeting state higher education goals. For 2006, these institutions are Iowa State University, University of Iowa, University of Georgia, University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), University of Missouri (Columbia), Ohio State University (Columbus), Purdue University, and Rutgers (New Brunswick). We sought to compare UConn's nonresident admission and enrollment trends to trends in those peer universities.

We were able to collect freshmen enrollment data from five of the schools. Two of them (Purdue and Iowa State) enroll roughly the same proportion of nonresidents as UConn. The University of Georgia and Ohio State enroll a far lower percentage, while the University of Iowa enrolls a higher proportion. All of the schools consistently maintained their enrollment proportions over the past four years. Table 3 shows the trends.

Table 3: Freshmen Enrollment Data, by Residence, 2002-2005

1. % totals less than 100 because data excludes international students

We obtained application, admission, and freshmen enrollment data comparable to that received from UConn (see Table 1, above) only from the University of Iowa. Displayed in Table 4, they show that Iowa has consistently received more applications from nonresidents than residents have and has admitted a much higher percentage of them than UConn. But a smaller proportion of admitted nonresidents enrolled, consequently they make up a lower percentage of Iowa's freshmen class than at UConn.

Table 4: Applications, Admissions, Enrollments, by Residency, University of Iowa, 2002-2005

Admission Policies

Like UConn, these peer institutions complete the Common Data Set. Five of the eight, like UConn consider state residency in their admission decisions; three do not (the universities of Georgia, Minnesota, and Missouri).

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