<p>November 5, 2012 - Filed under: UA in the News
Bonner: University of Alabama plan paying dividends
Tuscaloosa News Nov. 3
The University of Alabamas efforts in recruiting the brightest young people and emphasizing the importance of graduating are paying off, the colleges top administrator shared Friday. This years freshman class is the largest and most academically talented in the colleges history, Judy Bonner told the UA board of trustees in her first official presentation as the schools new president. This is a trend she expects will continue in the future. Less than three months into the recruiting cycle for next year, Bonner said the schools admissions team has so far received applications from 16,000 students seeking a seat in next years freshman class. Just as important as enrolling students, however, is ensuring those students graduate, she said. The most important thing our university can do for the employers in our state is to produce college graduates in the areas that are needed, Bonner said. We are attracting academically talented students, and we simply cannot let them leave without earning the degrees that they came to the university for. Over the last five years, UA has granted 43 percent more baccalaureate degrees and 26 percent more graduate degrees. The 13 public universities in Alabama have granted 20 percent, or 2,715, more total degrees over the last five years. UA accounts for nearly half of that total, or 1,332 degrees.</p>