Enrollment drop worse than University reported, mid-year budget cuts expected -Margaret Grayson, Montana Kaimin

After first reporting enrollment dropped 3.8 percent, the University of Montana quietly adjusted their enrollment numbers to reflect a 6.5 percent drop. In an Oct. 2 news release, UM reported total enrollment, including the Mountain Campus and Missoula College, decreased by 3.8 percent. Peggy Kuhr, vice president for integrated communications, said the numbers were estimates until the University could factor in student cancellations. The actual headcount is likely to cause mid-year budget cuts, she said. In the past two years, enrollment numbers were only released one time, as a final report. The difference between the last two years and the Oct. 2 press release was the word “preliminary.” The University used a different method to measure enrollment, but didn’t mention the new system in the press release. http://www.montanakaimin.com/news/article_bbf75a40-7dc0-11e5-ac9f-af00d96e3f84.html