UM President Talks Fall Enrollment, Says He Expects Slightly Lower Numbers

The University of Montana is cheering the recently reported increase in summer enrollment. Numbers were up 17 percent year-over-year, but UM President Seth Bodnar is cautious about what fall enrollment numbers will turn out to be.

"Summer recruiting is a different cycle than the fall and to be frank we haven't done as good a job as we should have in telling the story of the University of Montana, what a great institution it is and what great educational opportunities we have available," Bodnar said. "That is something that very quickly into the role I made some changes on organizationally to better align us and to better effectively tell that story."

Bodnar expects to bend that curve in the future, but expects it to take some time.

"That is a much longer cycle," Bodnar said. "This fall I think we will see our enrollment numbers slightly lower. it is what we expect, but what I am most excited about are the changes we have made. We just brought in a great new Vice President that is in charge of enrollment management and strategic communication.

The new Vice President for Enrollment and Strategic Communications is Catherine Cole. She came to Montana from the University of North Florida and is expected to start working for UM later this month or early September.