Northern_Today_Fall_2020

NORTHERN TODAY 6 FALL 2020 News | NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY Northern sees growth in student enrollment, retention Northern State University saw growth in overall headcount this fall, particularly in graduate students, and experienced its fifth consecutive year with a freshman to sophomore retention rate above 73 percent. Northern State unveils new institutional logo This fall, Northern State University officially unveiled a brand new institutional logo. NORTHERN was the only South Dakota Board of Regents institution to see a growth in headcount during this pandemic year, according to figures released from the SDBOR. Northern’s fall 2020 headcount is 3,431, above last fall’s 3,427. While NSU saw a slight decrease in credit hours, 26,165 this fall compared to last year’s 26,932, the percentage decrease was less than what the BOR system experienced as a whole. Northern’s biggest gain was in graduate student credit hours, which rose by 17 percent. Northern has 76 new, first-time graduate students this fall—the highest number in 10 years. This fall’s freshman class of 341 is consistent with last year’s 342. Incoming students also have a higher average ACT and high school GPA this year: 21.87 and 3.387, respectively, compared to 21.72 and 3.371 last year. Northern saw a decline of about 70 international students due to the COVID-19 pandemic—without that loss, enrollment figures would have grown across the board, said NSU Vice President of Enrollment, Communications and Marketing Justin Fraase. NSU President Dr. Tim Downs praised the team effort that took place across campus to recruit and retain students. “That includes our coaches, who brought in a record number of student-athletes; the NSU Foundation and our generous donors who contributed to the Student Emergency Relief Fund, which helped us keep students enrolled; and the hard work of our Admissions Department,” Downs said. “Everybody did everything they could, and our strong numbers show that.” THE NEW LOGO, which includes a capital “N” and boldfaced “NORTHERN” can now be found on the NSU website, social media accounts and other marketing materials. In addition, Northern now officially owns the trademark for its widely known wolf mark and is actively pursuing the trademark for the new institutional mark (N-Northern). Work on the new logo began in 2018, with the design created through an internal and collaborative effort by NSU Graphic Design Coordinator Jennifer Vaughn and Graphic Designer Amanda Mahlke. “Northern has always been included in our institution’s name, even starting in 1901 as Northern Normal and Industrial School,” said Justin Fraase, VP of Enrollment, Communications and Marketing. “We set out to commemorate our long history, while capitalizing on a mark that brings together current brand elements and makes a bold statement for the institution.” Bringing together athletic and institutional branding is becoming more common in higher education, “Everybody did everything they could, and our strong numbers show that.” Dr. Tim Downs, NSU President STUDENT ENROLLMENT, RETENTION 2020 HE ADCOUNT RE TENT ION R ATE GR ADUATE S TUDENT CRED I T HOURS 3,431 Fall 2020 headcount increase freshman to sophomore retention rate 76% 17%