December 6, 2007
Then and now: 20 years of growth, by the numbers
This school year, University Week, the UW campus newspaper for faculty and staff, turns 25. To note the occasion, throughout the year we’ll revisit some stories from our past, in no particular chronological order, and then provide a brief update on how things have changed over our quarter-century.
The story, which ran on our front page on Oct. 22, 1987, is a simple report about the size of the student population under the headline “Enrollment at 33,302 students; 18 percent minorities.”
According to the brief story, Washington state residents made up 83.4 percent of the 1987 UW student population, with a total of 27,776. Of the total, there were 1,616 international students, representing 4.9 percent. Back in 1987, 48.3 percent of students were female and minorities totaled 18 percent.
How have things changed in 20 years? Andrew Hummel-Schluger, associate director for academic data management in the Office of the Registrar, provided some numbers and explanation.
Since fee-based programs were not included in the total headcount back in 1987 but have since been included in that count, a direct comparison between 1987 and 2007 enrollment numbers can be misleading, he said, like comparing apples and oranges. With fee-based programs included, the total of graduate, undergraduate, professional and nonmatriculated students this fall is 40,046.
Percentages, however, tell a clearer story. From 4.9 percent in 1987, international student totals rose to 6.2 percent this year. The percentage of female students also has increased, from 48.3 percent to 53.3 percent.
Most telling, perhaps, is the increase in percentage in diversity at the UW over the last 20 years. Minority students totaled 18 percent back in 1987 but now add up to 31.6 percent of the student population. And another 7.5 percent of students did not indicate their ethnicity in the most recent count.
