In fact, the two part-time Working Professional MBA programs offered in Sacramento and the Bay Area account for 20 percent of UC Davis' overall enrollment increase.
In all, fall enrollment represents an increase of almost 0.7 percent from last fall's 30,475. A total of 147 students, or about 70 percent of the increase, is attributable to growth among professional students, including interns and residents, at the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Medicine. In turn, the Working Professional MBA students account for almost 30 percent of the increase among professional students.
Across the university
The 4,955 new freshmen coming directly from high school represent a 10 percent decrease from last fall's record 5,511. At the same time, though, there were gains in academic quality and in the proportion of traditionally underrepresented ethnic groups: African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino.
Pamela Burnett, director of Undergraduate Admissions, said the entering class of students transferring from another college or university is the largest and most diverse in the last five years. New transfer students number 1,874 this fall, compared with last fall's 1,827 final tally, for a 2.6 percent increase. And 331 students, or 18.6 percent, of the 1,775 transfer students from the United States are from traditionally underrepresented groups.
The number of undergraduates (including teaching-credential students) increased by less than 0.2 percent, from 23,458 last fall to 23,499 this fall. The number of academic graduate students increased by 0.5 percent, from 4,072 to 4,094. The number of professional students increased from 2,945 last fall to 3,092 this fall, for a 5 percent increase.
Looking only at the Davis campus, the student population is expected to average 26,830 across the three quarters of the academic year.
Among the 28,346 students from the United States for whom an ethnicity is known, 15.8 percent are from traditionally underrepresented groups, compared with 14.7 percent last fall. (This count excludes interns and residents.)
MBA programs and professional students
James Stevens, assistant dean for Student Affairs with the Graduate School of Management, said the school is delighted with the response to the Working Professional MBA program in the Bay Area. It has been offered in San Ramon since 2004 and is one of almost a dozen executive MBA programs in the area.
Last year, the Bay Area program enrolled 54 new students and had total enrollment of 94; this year, it added 77 new students for a total enrollment of 165.
Stevens said a "full-court" marketing press in the Bay Area and more information sessions for prospective students contributed to a growth in applications from 100 to 144.
Business giants -- like Chevron, Intel and Cisco Systems -- that sent one employee to the program in its first year are now sending two or three, he added.
"We were optimistic the program would reach full enrollment by year four," Stevens said. "It's been wildly successful."
He said the Working Professional Program offered in Sacramento, which temporarily lost some enrollment to the Bay Area program, is back to full strength. It has 184 students, compared with 213 last year.
Enrollment in the full-time MBA program increased from 106 last fall to 112 this year.
Other significant growth among professional students came from the health sciences. The number of medical students increased 7 percent, from 370 to 396, and the total number of professional students in the School of Medicine increased by about 6.7 percent.
Profile of this fall's student body
Men account for 44.7 percent of the total student population, and women 55.3 percent. About 92.4 percent of students are California residents. Almost 3.3 percent are from other parts of the United States, while about 4.3 percent are international students.
For the general campus, 6,237 students are classified as freshmen; 4,289 as sophomores; 5,932 as juniors; 6,915 as seniors; 126 as teaching-credential students; 3,846 as master's or doctoral degree candidates; and 1,158 as professional students.
In the health sciences, 248 are designated as master's or doctoral degree students and 1,934 as professional degree candidates.
New freshmen
The academic profile of the entering class compares favorably with that of last year's class. The average Scholastic Assessment Test score of enrolled freshmen is 1,739, up from the average score of 1,727 in fall 2006. The average grade point average is 3.74, compared with 3.70 in fall 2006.
Of the 4,955 new freshmen, 4,879 are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The ethnic breakdown among the U.S. students, contrasted with last year's figures (in parentheses), is:
- African American, 3.8 percent or 183 (3.2 percent or 174);
- American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.8 percent or 41 (0.4 percent or 24);
- Chicano/Latino, 13.9 percent or 678 (13.1 percent or 712);
- Asian/Pacific Islander, 43.5 percent or 2,120 (44.1 percent or 2,391);
- Caucasian, 33.1 percent or 1,613 (33.1 percent or 1,793); and
- Other/Not Reported, 5 percent or 244 (6.1 percent or 331).
Here is a comparison of actual fall quarter enrollments from last year to this year:
Fall 2007
Undergraduates 23,499
- Agricultural & Environmental Sciences 4,819
- Engineering 2,950
- Letters & Science 10,243
- Biological Sciences 5,361
- Teaching Credential 126
Graduate Academic 4,094
Professional 3,092
- Graduate School of Management* 461
Law 597
Medicine** 1,304
Veterinary Medicine** 630
Graduate Division 100
Total 30,685
Fall 2006
Undergraduates 23,458
- Agricultural & Environmental Sciences 4,623
- Engineering 2,965
- Letters & Science 10,360
- Biological Sciences 5,381
- Teaching Credential 129
Graduate Academic 4,072
Professional Schools 2,945
- Graduate School of Management* 413
- Law 599
- Medicine** 1,221
- Veterinary Medicine** 618
- Graduate Division 94
Total 30,475
* Figures for the management school include students in the MBA program for working professionals: 349 this fall and 307 last fall.
** Numbers for the medical and veterinary schools include interns and residents. The medical school has 783 this fall compared with 751 last fall; the vet school has 106 this fall compared with 96 last fall.
Additional information: